Cruel Angel
by MoonGoddessKonoko
Summary: Ed and Al think they have peace and quiet after Al is restored but it ain't over yet. Ed finds himself without a voice while trying to figure out a way to save the world for a second time. But he's got help, he's hooked up with a new vampire Roy and an Is
1. Chapter 1: Break Me Down

Konoko: This story kinda came to me early in the morning while I was sleeping so I typed it up for everybody. It's my first FullMetal Alchemist fanfic so please review after you read so I know what you think of it. criticism is cool and if anything is bad to you go ahead and tell me. I'm warning you ahead of time there is shonen-ai, yaoi or what ever you want to call it. for those who don't know what that is, it's male/male relationships. So don't flame because you found it offensive because it would be pointless. There might be a few minor spoilers but they aren't bad enough to make you not read so enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. Come on! If I did I wouldn't right fanfiction about it and there sure as heck would be more love in there.

Cruel Angel

Chapter 1: Break Me Down

"Brother!"

"Let him go! Please! He has nothing to do with this!"

It was over. Edward had succeeded in restoring his brother to his humanity. It was over. Edward had succeeded in regaining his arm and leg only to have them taken as the price of his brother humanity yet this was without regret. Yes, it was over. They'd fought, cried and suffered for five years and everything would be all right…at least that's what they were led to believe.

Alphonse fought weakly against the soldiers who caught hold of him as they wrestled him to the ground and tied his arms up. Edward punched, kicked, and screamed for them to let his brother go. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be happy together now. Instead, they were fighting the military and crying out for each other. The higher ups had figured out what the brothers were and what they were after and had took action immediately. Edward and Alphonse had returned to Rezembul so that Alphonse could gain strength and recover from being pulled from the gate. They found that being put back into human form was equivalent to being born all over again. It was sunset when they had come storming from the train station. The armed men broke down the door and barged into the Rockbells' home shoving Pinako and Winry to the side. They took Edward first, surprising him in his and his brother's room and grabbing both his arms preventing him from performing alchemy. Then they manhandled his brother from bed pulling him roughly from the sheets. They took the time and examined the small serpent cross at the base of his skull. Holding the Rockbells at gunpoint, they drug the blondes from the house with the oldest screaming obscenities at them before the butt of a rifle struck him on the back of the head. Alphonse was given similar treatment and they were bound tightly and brought onto an awaiting train.

**_Two Months Later…_**

Major General Mustang sat in his new office contemplating his promotion. His skin had taken a much paler complexion since the promotion ceremony that cast him two ranks above his previous position. King Bradley had been "unseated" at his own hand and he was closer to the position he had sought after for so long. Hawkeye was still at his side and he had avenged Hughes's death to an extremity. Everything was good and things would start to change. He ran a hand over the black eye covering. Everything was fine…this was good…wasn't it?

No, nothing would be fine. Not after the other night's events. He wasn't even sure they should call that event a ceremony; it was more like a ritual.

_General Haruko had led both he and Hawkeye before the brass with the blonde woman walking in his newly acquired blind spot appreciating her protectiveness. He noted how the general seemed a lot paler than normal and that he was unusually silent as he led them to the center of the room. Both of them kept their eyes straight ahead out of respect and slight fear. He had never seen the entire ranks of generals before and the idea that there were enough to make a large squadron was not helping the sickening feeling in his gut. War had hardened his resolve and had given him eerie calm in every situation so this made him afraid because he was nervous when he shouldn't be. He could sense Hawkeye's nervousness as well. This just made everything worse because it took a great deal to make this woman a nervous wreck. Yet they both stood stoic barely listening to the speech. At the end their uniform jackets were removed leaving them confused as the new Fuhrer approached them with a smirk on his face. William G. Marshall, one of the most corrupt beings in the military ranks Mustang had ever seen, had made it to Fuhrer. This was ridiculous but Mustang never questioned it once knowing that given the right amount of time he would replace this weasel. He came face to face with the two._

_ "Let me be the first to congratulate you both on your work here and discovering Fullmetal for us. But now it's time you moved on to bigger things and get to know the real military."_

_ "Sir!" Both saluted him. His smirk seemed to broaden as he continued. "Therefore you will be inducted into the elites and finally get a hold of real power."_

_ It happened so quickly that Mustang's vision caught it in snapshots. The four other generals grabbing a hold of them, Hawkeye screaming and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why, the sudden searing pain in his neck, and finally the taste of a metallic liquid between his lips. He had awakened the next morning in his bed with a horrible migraine and the light hurting his good eye. He remembered rubbing his neck and finding it clear of wounds and he idly wondered what the hell went on last night. He glanced at the calendar noting it to be Saturday and an off duty day. He didn't remember getting any type of leave. He sighed running his tongue over his gums, which felt oddly itchy and uncomfortable. In bathroom he took a shower and brushed his teeth casually noticed that he might need to get more sun; his skin was deathly pale. He dressed casually in a white button up shirt and jeans yawning as he walked out into the streets of central. Everything seemed so loud and bright like he was hearing and seeing for the first time. He heard his stomach let out an indignant growl cursing at him to eat. Mentally shrugging, he took a trip to his favorite spot to eat whenever he was on leave and sat down to eat. He after eating more than what was normal (four full plates) he found that he wasn't satiated at all. There was still this raw hunger in his stomach that ached and food wasn't satisfying it. Mustang's eyes began to get blurry until the waitress came back to politely inquire about his health._

_ "Are you well, sir?" the brunette asked timidly touching his shoulder._

_ At her touch, Mustang's breath quickened and he felt his body temperature rise to an unbearable height making a bead of sweat roll down his face. He took the woman's hand gently and kissed the palm of it softly tasting the slightly calloused skin of a hard worker. The waitress blushed and froze when his dark coal grey eyes rested on her own. He gave an alluring smile that made her face burn and knees weaken. Mustang pulled her down close and purred an answer in her ear._

_ "I would feel much better, Miss Michelle," he whispered glancing at her nametag. "If you had dinner with me tonight."_

_ Michelle gasped staring down at him once she was allowed to stand. She giggled behind her notepad and nodded. "Sure, Mister?"_

_ "Mustang. Roy Mustang."_

_ "The Flame Alchemist! Wow."_

_ He smirked. "So, seven okay?"_

_ She nodded bashfully and was pulled away from him when one of the other customers called for her. Mustang hadn't really known what possessed him to ask her out considering he wasn't in his normal prowling mood and to say the least she was pretty average compared to most of the women he'd dated. He felt a certain urgency inside that made him leap at the first woman who made contact and he just couldn't help it. Even as the day passed the hunger never went away. He tried eating, drinking, anything that would take his mind off the pull in his stomach but it didn't work and the day felt like it passed so slowly. The dinner was boring with him pretending to be interested in what she had to say all the while questioning what the hell made him want to do this one and how long would it compel him to do these things. At the end, he paid for her and walked her home. By the time they made it to the doorstep he had her pressed against the door in a frantic kiss. She focused on the kiss and unlocking the door at the same time, pretty talented. Once he heard the lock click, Mustang shoved the door open both of them pushing and pulling at each other inside the cozy one story house. Things were knocked over though neither cared as they haphazardly made their way to Michelle's bedroom. Ripping at each other's clothes, they fell onto the bed and Mustang's mouth slid to her throat sucking at her pulse roughly. No coherent thought entered his mind as he pressed between her legs and ran his teeth over her neck. He barely noticed the pain in his gums as he ran his tongue over Michelle's chest and breastplate pressing soft kisses between the two mounds. The hunger was pulling at him more and more causing him slowly to loose his grip on his body. Something else had taken over and he allowed it so long as he could smother the fire that was smoldering his insides. His mouth closed around Michelle's pulse and he felt his teeth sinking into her skin as she cried out in pain filled pleasure. Warm blood passed through his lips and the world turned black._

_ He remembered awakening in his own bed once again with that strange hangover headache though the torturous hunger was not there anymore. He forced himself out of bed only in a pair of slacks and popped two aspirin to chase the headache away. He checked the doorstep to find the morning paper neatly lying at his feet. He picked it up and untied it to find a bold headline of a murder and the image a woman dead on a bed. The headline read:_

_ "**FEMALE FOUND MURDERED; BODY DRAINED OF BLOOD?"**_

_ Next to the corpse's image the photograph of a young woman was plastered there. It was Michelle. Flashes of the night before entered his head making the pounding increased as silent screams played in his head. He felt bile rise in his throat and he quickly ran to the bathroom emptying what little was in his stomach. He collapsed on the floor and remained there for rest of the day replaying last night over and over again._

He buried his head in his hand pushing aside the paperwork at the memory of his first kill as a General and a sinful creature of the night.

Mustang lifted his head at the sound of his office door opening and closing. He looked up at the pale yet alluring Brigadier General Hawkeye. She placed a file on his desk giving him a serious look.

"It's the Elrics, sir," she said softly. "They've been taken into custody. Fullmetal has been thrown into prison in the Eastern Headquarters' main penitentiary and Alphonse Elric has been locked down in a containment room at Lab 2 near Eastern Headquarters. It happened two months ago and we are just getting the information."

"Who authorized it?"

"Brigadier General Manning, the Jackknife Alchemist, sir."

"I have authority over him," he muttered. "I'll take care of it."

"One more thing, General."

"Yes."

"The Fuhrer gave support in the action taken by Brigadier General Manning because…well they know about the boys. They know of the human transmutation that was used to restore Alphonse Elric."

Mustang's eyes widened slightly then narrowed as his trademark smirk made an appearance. "They're testing our strength under pressure. We've been pushed into a corner leaving us only one risky option."

"Sir?"

"We're generals now, Hawkeye. We can do whatever we want and their counting on us to do so."

Hawkeye nodded. "I'll have Havoc pick up the train tickets then, sir."

Edward sat with eyes staring lifelessly at the wall. He didn't know how long it had been there though it didn't matter in his mind. All he could think about was his brother and how they had been betrayed. He'd seen his brother once and that was the happiest he had been. Alphonse was maneuvering well by himself though alchemy wards had been drawn all over him and he looked exhausted. It made him happy to know that his brother was alive and okay. But that happiness only lasted so long. They hadn't lied when they mentioned homunculus and alchemist sharing a link. He may have worked hard to make Alphonse perfect and succeeded but there was still the fact that he was a homunculus. He felt what Alphonse felt and that was mostly fear, pain, and fatigue. He didn't know what they were doing to him but the protection he'd placed over his brother was complex and would take the low-leveled alchemists here years to decipher. At least that was what he hoped. However, now he stopped thinking. He became unresponsive and lifeless. The security jeered at him and insulted him yet he remained silent and unmoving staring with half-lidded eyes. The complacent men lost interest in him quickly and left him alone after a while. Edward hadn't eaten in gods knew how long and his once beautiful golden hair was dull from dirt and uncared for flowing in tangles that had long since fallen from his braid. It had grown down his back brushing his waist. His body had been battered, bruised and broken. His automail was in need of repair and the port hurt so badly that all movement of his prosthetic limbs torturous. Everything was just to painful causing him to lock himself away in the far recesses of his brain. So this was what happened when stress was pushed to the back of the mind…emptiness

The door to his dark cage was opened and the familiar steps of the bastard who had imprisoned him entered. Edward could feel the satisfied grin on the son of a bitch's face but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response. Manning stood in front of Edward and lifted the teenage alchemist's chin examining the hazed eyes.

"So Fullmetal, are you broken enough to tell us how you perfected that homunculus of yours?"

Edward didn't answer; he simply stared passed the foul breathed man as if he weren't there. Manning grabbed a fist full of his bangs and dragged him from the cell yet still he mad no sound of discomfort. Two months of torture made you immune to most of the minor pains such as having your hair yanked. His bound hands were released which made him look at the guard who unbound them. He had no urge to try and escape. No desire to grasp his freedom from the brigadier general. He had been over it far too many times each resulting in the worse punishment he could ever imagine but never did: being raped. Manning had taken an interest in the broken blonde in the past months when he'd tried to escape and find his brother. He had begun to make a point of temporarily taking Ed from prison to his own personal lodgings in East City. It had been three days and that was all Edward needed to be treated and to heal before being used again. By then, he had receded and honestly was not there anymore. Manning didn't care as long as he got half of what he wanted from the boy. Today was the day and he couldn't be in a better mood. Edward made no sound save for his quiet breathing as he followed Manning to his car. Another night of horror and pain filled screams.

The next morning, Manning left Edward naked in bed lying over blood-soaked sheets. His chest was bloodied and bitten and his skin was pale and drained. He had been overly rough on the boy in order to get him to make a sound. It had been getting harder and harder to get the blonde to react but he didn't care as long as he got something out of. He dressed deciding to return the boy to prison after he had returned from the office. He opened the door to find the newly instated general Hawkeye. She could smell the blood from the door and her eyes narrowed in disgust. Manning's face twisted into an amused smirk.

"May I help you, Brigadier General Hawkeye?"

"I have authorization to remove Alphonse Elric from the containment and to remove the Fullmetal Alchemist from the premises. I know he's there, I can smell him." She stated coldly.

"On who's authority, may I ask?"

"Major General Mustang, sir."

"Only had his power for a week and he's already abusing it. I have no problem with it. The boy is useless at the moment to me. He won't talk so it isn't in my interest to keep him around."

Hawkeye pushed passed him and entered the house ignoring the ever-present smirk on the general's face. She followed the scent of blood and sex of the stairs feeling nauseated by the stench but slightly intrigued by the latter. She entered the bedroom to see an unconscious Edward spread out on the bed suffering from a severe blood loss. She fought the sick clench in her stomach of the hunger and slowly slid her arms beneath him lifting him from the bed. His head limply rolled to the side with his lips slightly parted and blue from lack of warmth. She held him possessively close hoping to offer some heat to his chilled skin. She wrapped him in a clean sheet and carried him out. She walked past Manning emotionlessly.

"I trust you'll be hearing from the Fuhrer about this incident. It will be put on record."

"Of course. I expect nothing less, General Hawkeye."

In the car, Hawkeye slid next to an unconscious Alphonse who rested his head against the window. She examined Edward first looking over the gruesome bites of his chest hoping that they could get blood pumping into him in time. They were driven to a military hospital where Ed was sent directly into I.C.U. and kept under close observation where as Al was taken with Hawkeye back to a hotel where she and the Major General were staying. She allowed him to rest and heal in her room knowing that by morning the scars would be gone. The younger Elric was something truly amazing. She went to the former colonel's room and sat in a chair exhaustion licking at her heels. She hadn't eaten and the sun was draining her. She was almost thrilled to see it set. She cast her eyes over at the bed where her commander lay practically comatose. He had worried about the brothers so much that he had not eaten the two days it had taken for them to get here. She knew he wouldn't admit to being groggy and concerned if she questioned him but she knew. Hawkeye turned back to the window and as the sun fell beneath the horizon. On cue, she heard a groan from the bed and the rustling of the bed sheets as the raven-haired soldier sat up letting the sheets fall down his bare chest his waist. Ever since that night, seeing the skin of each other had become casual and comforting as if feeling the slight embarrassment was one of the ways to remind them that they were still human on some level. She looked away when his sleepy and most likely blurred eyes fell on her. Her cheeks felt warm despite the fact that they had been through this hundred times already. Mustang gave a faint smile and stretched looking toward the twilight sky.

"So, how did it go?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Alphonse is resting peacefully in my bed. I was able to retrieve them both without incident, sir," she stated still watching the horizon and feeling the fatigue wear away while debating whether to let him know the conditions Fullmetal had been found under.

"Hagane no?" he asked softly.

The blonde sighed. "He's been placed in Intensive Care at the medical facility. He…was completely drained of blood and would have most likely died had I not shown up in time. His condition is in the balance and he has a chance of getting better or worse. It's all up to him. The doctors are doing all they can."

He nodded with narrowed eyes. " And Manning?"

"I've filed a full and detailed report on the abuse of his power to the Fuhrer as soon as I could, sir. I included a list of all Ed's injuries mental and physical. He's violated several codes as a general and I am sure he won't be around for long."

"Good."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"I…well, I believe you should hold off on seeing Fullmetal for until he is able to travel back to central with us. He is in a very fragile state and I'm sure he won't be completely alright after he awakes."

"Why do you think that? He's been injured numerous times before."

"I honestly didn't want to inform you about this but…aside from being beaten and bruised in prison…I found out that he's been raped several times by Brigadier General Manning."

Mustang's eyes widened and then narrowed in anger. "What!"

"When I found him..." Hawkeye squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. "He was naked, bitten and covered in his own blood. His throat has been badly injured. The worse part was the smell of the Brigadier General was all over him. It was sickening and infuriating. I don't want you to see because you have to keep your head clear as you said back in Central."

He nodded not being one to contradict his own words. "Then I won't see him yet."

Edward opened his eyes with a start staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He squinted his eyes in pain at the brightness of the room shutting tight and covering them with his sore human arm. He could hear barely recognizable voices entering the room.

"Look he's awake! Brother, you okay?" Edward turned his head and slowly opened his eyes to see his brother looking at him with concern written over his face. It quickly turned into a warm smile with tears at the brim of his eyes. He couldn't find his voice in order to tell Alphonse he was okay. Alphonse's smile faded away when he noticed his brother's mouth moving slowly yet not even a whisper came to it. Edward pulled himself up even though each movement was painful and a strain. Alphonse helped him with a sad expression.

"Brother…you can't say anything can you?"

Edward honestly didn't know. When he tried to make a sound he just couldn't get a squeak out of it. He stared down at his hands resting limply on the sheets wondering if this was just some half-baked dream that he had been rescued and his brother was standing concerned over him at the cost of his voice. His brother looked back at the door; that was about the time he realized his brother was not alone. Hawkeye approached him and looked down at him with the same stern look of the military woman she was yet there was something heart warming about her gaze. She was worried about him.

"So it's true. The doctor said that your vocal cords had been badly damaged. There's a chance that they'll heal on their own but it's a slim one. I'm sorry Ed," she said regretfully.

Edward however continued to stare at his bed sheets thinking. He slowly looked on the nightstand and picked up a pen and pad doing his best to ignore the pain in his automail port. He slowly wrote with his left hand glad for being some how blessed with the ability to write and work well with both hands. He tore out the paper and handed it to Hawkeye. Read it out loud for Alphonse to hear.

" 'It's okay. Just please get me to the Rockbells before my arm and leg fall off.' It'll be a while before we can take you out of here. They want to keep you for a few more days for observation. Is that problem?"

Edward turned that broken gaze to her that made her feel painfully cold and shook his head. He laid back against the propped up pillows his brother had fixed for him and begin to write again passing it slowly to her.

" 'How'd you find us?' " She muttered reading. "We had just gotten the message a month ago. You've been in a coma since I took you from Brigadier General Manning."

Edward cringed violently at the mentioning of that name and looked Hawkeye questioningly. She blinked at him and cast her eyes to the floor. Edward scribbled on the pad and handed it to Alphonse requesting some water. Understanding, he nodded and left the room knowing that whatever they had to say to each other was none of his business until Edward made it his business. He trusted his brother to let him know when he was ready though he had a feeling he already knew. The transmutation that brought him back was too perfect. Things could be felt both ways and he had felt things he wish he hadn't felt at all. Once he left the room Edward began writing again. She made a point to read out loud to him to make sure she understood it right.

" 'Does Mustang know?' " Hawkeye sighed. "Yes, I made a point to tell him because this couldn't be kept between us. The Major General will do everything to make sure this is set right."

Edward wrote: "It won't make it go away, but I guess I appreciate the effort."

"So, I assume you already know what we are know since our promotion. We haven't really come to terms with ourselves so please don't question it."

"I won't. I know what you are but I never thought that they existed. I just believed they were only in the novels people made up. It was…strange to find out that the military was full of them. It was worse to find out first hand what they could do to you…"

Hawkeye read the paper to herself knowing he meant to say all of it. She sighed and looked down at Ed. "I won't pretend that this doesn't have everyone shaken but as a soldiers we keep our faces emotionless in order to make our way to where we need to be."

"This is a bit extreme don't you think?" he wrote.

"Truthfully I think so, but…Major General Mustang isn't stopping now that he has come so far," she glanced at the window at all the people of East City. "As long as he won't stop…then as one of his comrades…and his friend I can't help but follow."

Edward watched her as the mask of her normal woman of business self seem to crack. What exactly happened to make them into what they were? Was it so bad that even Hawkeye had a certain shell-shocked air about her?

"Moving on to something more important, you are still a member of the military and you've had a promotion though you're far from being what we are fortunately. I wanted to ask you something before the Major General brought it up to you."

Edward nodded for her to continue. She kept eye contact with the young alchemist as she began to give her explanation. "I wanted to know if you wished to continue your service under Major General Mustang. He spoke earlier of having you discharged from the military but felt that it was up to you. If you do continue, then you'll be apart of something much bigger than just being a dog of the military. Major Gen…Mustang would appreciate extra help even if he doesn't show it."

He caught her attention by scribbling on the pad again. "Help in what?"

"He wants…no…he needs to become the Fuhrer of Amestris."

Edward arched an eyebrow and wrote: "what for?"

"It's complicated, Edward. He'll tell you himself when he's ready to."

Edward nodded. Before he could finish writing anything else Alphonse had reentered the room with the ice water his brother requested. Edward smiled and accepted the glass with a silent thank you. He passed the last note to Hawkeye that simply stated "I'll stay a lap dog for now." The blonde woman nodded and exited the room.

It took three weeks before Edward was ready to leave the hospital. Autumn had rolled in and like an old man he had been feeling the weather change before anyone else. He knew by the time he made it back to Central it would snow. His automail had been fixed up as best it could until they could get back to Rizembul and even that had left his arm useless though he appreciated that he could walk. The arm had rusted from blood and water and had to be thrown out as scrap. It took a while for the pain in his leg to go away but at the end of the three-week recovery he had been nursed back to health and was ready for travel. Slowly he had begun to feel a bit like a shadow of his former self yet one thing bothered him. He wondered why the ex-colonel had not been to visit him once since he had awakened. He had no doubt in his mind that Mustang knew he was out of his coma but it bothered him oddly enough that his superior had not been to taunt him or complain about the trouble he was causing by simply breathing. He supposed it was because he had grown accustom to it. He didn't complain about it. He didn't think he could look the new general in the eye any way. On the last day however when he was released from the hospital, he was escorted to the train station in pair of store bought clothes and prison handcuffs by Hawkeye to keep up appearances. There on the platform in the sunlit lighting stood Mustang in his uniform and trench coat looking out of place in the sun. He waited for Hawkeye and Alphonse to bored slowing himself to walk up to Fullmetal and unlock the cuffs leaving them on the rail. Upon entering the car he took notice that they along with the old crew were the only ones riding the train. They brightened his mood by acting as normal as possible, which wasn't hard considering that they had no clue the horrors he had face. He was glad for this. Real normalcy was better than faked normalcy. They hadn't skipped a heart beat to fell sorry for him when they figured out he couldn't speak and he was thankful that know one showed him pity. He hadn't wanted it. He took note that Mustang and Hawkeye dozed most of the time the sun was out. He figured that maybe the sun didn't hurt them just drained them. It was pleasant until night when his brother and the gang had fallen asleep. Mustang and Hawkeye were wide-awake yet they looked slightly uncomfortable. He wondered what from.

Mustang eyed the fully awake Fullmetal in the reflection of the dark window as the teen meddled with his automail port out of boredom. He noticed that the young alchemist walked with limp that most likely meant he'd hit a growth spurt somewhere in the three-month time period and was taller. His hair had been brushed and neatly braided into a calf length braid by his brother no doubt. His bangs brushed his collarbone indicating they hadn't been trimmed giving him an almost odd yet attractive feminine appearance. He had none of the childishness he had the last time they had saw each other. His once beautiful gold eyes barely had the luster of fool's gold now and that bothered him. Though the new sixteen-year old Hagane was beautiful, he was not Edward anymore and Mustang had to wonder if he could put that spark back in his eyes and how long would it take. He had admitted a long time ago that he had been interested in the young alchemist. Anyone who said the boy wasn't attractive was an awful liar. He knew he couldn't even begin to pursue Edward because restriction one: he was under aged, restriction two: he was male, and restriction three: Edward was not mentally stable after this incident. He wasn't exactly sure what would trigger the memories off and he sure as hell knew that time wouldn't heal it. Still, it was nice to look at him and imagine what it would have been like if this would not have happened.

_ See, something interesting, sir? _

He turned to Hawkeye whose ruby eyes where on him. He smirked. _Nothing for you to be concerned about, Hawkeye. _

Her eyes showed confusion for a moment than cast a quick glance at the blond boy whose eyes were on the floor. She turned back to Mustang with a stern look with pity hidden behind her beautiful orbs. _Sir, we've been through this. You couldn't have him before. Now no one can… _

_ Believe me I know that. But like Ed and Al have proven, it's nice to dream…don't you agree, Riza? _

Hawkeye's eyes widened in surprise then looked toward the window. _Yes, it is. But like dreams tend to do, they don't last like we hope they do… _

Konoko: Okay that's what I got so far. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2: Promises of Goodbye

Konoko: I thought I'd go ahead and post the next chapter since it was already done. Contrary to belief this has a plot. You just don't hit on it until the third chapter. And honestly there isn't anything fluffy about this no matter where you look unless you count Al and Ed scenes. I noticed a lot of hits and I appreciate it but could you please review too so I know how I'm doing. Thanks

Disclaimer: Don't own it damn it!

Cruel Angel

Chapter Two: Promises of Goodbye

The train pulled into Rizembul late into the evening two days later. It took forever to wake everyone up considering train rides weren't the best. Edward jumped onto the platform and stretched sleepily. It was a long walk to the Rockbells plus a lot of complaining and questions. Alphonse did most of the tour guiding while he walked silently with Hawkeye and Mustang. To make matters worse it had begun to rain down on them. The water soaked into the bandages around Ed's throat causing it to sting the unhealed stitches in his neck. Mustang removed his trench and wrapped it around Ed to shield his neck from the rain's assault. He didn't know why he blushed but he did feel his face heat in the cold rain and wondered where the feeling came from. When they approached the house, Armstrong beat the door down before they could stop him finding them-selves staring down the barrels of two sawed-off shotguns and hammer. A shot rang off causing everyone to dodge off to the sides of the doorframe. Edward peeked around the frame catching Pinako's eye.

"Oh, it's okay Winry, it's just Ed."

Winry lowered the hammer and shotgun, "Ed? Al? You're okay!" Both brothers nodded. Winry approached them both in a welcoming hug only to have Al hit dead on with a wrench in the forehead. Ed's however was caught by Mustang's gloved hand before the blond alchemist could blink. Ed cast a look of disbelief at his superior only to have the general look away from him and hand the wrench back to Winry without a word. Pinako narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nice catch, sir," Havoc said peeking from behind the door.

"We'd appreciate it if you didn't hit the injured with blunt objects, Miss Rockbell," Hawkeye stated stepping out the weather. Ed helped Al to his feet seeing the head injury heal on its own and smiled. It was only then that Winry noticed the flapping fabric that was Ed's right sleeve. She shrieked.

"Edward what the heck did you do to my automail!"

"Winry, please, this time it honestly wasn't our fault!" Al pleaded. "You saw what happened!"

"How the heck do you wreck automail by sitting in prison for three and a half months!"

Ed's head bowed as he looked off to the side. Al couldn't cover him for that one because he didn't know what had happened to his brother during the two months they were separated from each other. Instead he just silenced while Winry looked between the confused. Why wasn't Ed saying anything to her? As if she were an angel Pinako saved them from explanation by breaking the silence.

"We can talk about that later, just come out the rain; you're making a scene!" She ushered them into the house.

Ed sat and endured an hour-long rant about his arm and leg as Winry and Pinako took new measurements for new limbs. It perked him up slightly to know he'd grown taller and that the Rockbells had managed to remain normal through the months. It made him a bit more comfortable to be in the company of the people who actually cared whether he existed or not. Adding to that was the pleasure of seeing his brother smile at everyone. It was all he wanted yet he couldn't help feeling cheated some how out of everything. Winry wouldn't speak to him but he could tell something was weighing her down every time she looked at them. He asked Al to explain what went on leaving as much about Mustang and Hawkeye's secret out of it as possible. It seemed to make her angrier but strangely enough she didn't say anything. He figured either she was going to let it go like all the other times or wait for him to be alone. Either way she didn't act like herself the whole time. The next few days were spent prepping Ed for surgery on the automail port of his arm. It had been damaged badly explaining the pain he had been in over the months. The company stayed the whole time during the surgery. Mustang sat still listening to the thrashing and thuds as the old port was being removed closing his eyes hoping to block out the sound. Needless to say it didn't work. Even Hawkeye cringed slightly at the sound and Al just crouched near the door with his hands over his ears and eyes closed. Mustang could only imagine what was going on behind that door and didn't have a strong wish to see the surgery preformed from the sound of things being broken and thrown. He idly wondered how he put up with it when he was only ten years old and what the screaming sounded like. More bothersome was the image of Ed's suffering face. He put a gloved hand to his temple as he sat hoping it would be over soon. An hour passed and the sounds behind the closed door had ceased. Pinako came out with fabric wrapped around what he assumed was the old port by the bloodstains soaked into the white material.

"Well, it's done. I have to tell you it was tough removing this one. It was rusted and the skin had healed around it so getting it off was a chore but he's fine. He blacked out halfway through putting the new one in place. Give or take he'll be up in a few hours and just a little sore but he'll be able to function until we finish the new arm and leg. You're welcome to stay and wait or you could just come back and get him in about a week and a half."

Mustang cast his eyes at his subordinates who all shrugged leaving him with the decision. He turned to Pinako and nodded. "We'll stay until Fullmetal makes a full recovery."

Pinako nodded and disposed of the damaged port. True to her word, Ed was awake and to his sheer bad luck, Winry had stayed with him. Not that he mined her staying he just really didn't want to explain to her why he couldn't speak or about how the military higher-ups are all vampires. However, with her right there, there was no getting out of it. She cleaned up the mess on the floor with an infuriated expression. He would've asked what was wrong but he couldn't and that was the whole problem. He lifted his finger to catch her attention and that was when she blew up.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED! YOU LEFT GRANDMA AND ME TO WORRY OVER YOU THEN YOU COME BACK WITH RUINED AUTOMAIL AND NO VOICE!"

Ed flinched and put his finger down. She continued. "Did it ever occur to you that we might care more than they do about your injuries and the things that happened to you more than them? I bet all of them know why you can't talk. Bet they all know what happen to you but you can't spill a single detail to the people who've been there and worried sick the whole time! Are we that meaningless to us that you couldn't even call when they got you out and let us know that you were recovering or that you were even alive?"

Ed sat there and watched the tears come to her eyes. Had she been holding this in for the four days they'd been there? He sighed wanting something to write on but he stayed still at let her talk. It was rare that he listened to her except when it counted. This, he supposed, qualified.

"Five years, Ed. Five years you and Al have putting us threw this. This time we honestly thought we had lost you both for good. Why don't you just quit the military? It was what you planned all along. What changed? You promised you'd come back to us and you would stay with us and…we could all be happy again. You live on that alchemy junk equivalent trade or whatever. Well, you've been taking from us over and over again and all we wanted was you to stay and live and be content. I wanted you to notice how much we've willingly gave to you when we didn't have to give at all. I've been trying so hard to be a good mechanic so that I could stay as some part of you and Al's lives, so that you would have to come back to us regularly, so that you would somehow see that I needed you both."

She turned crying eyes to him. "Why aren't you content with just us? Why are we never enough for you to be happy! Ed, what do I have to do to make you stay away from all these horrible things that you go after when you leave me here."

He reached for the pad and pen that Pinako had left conveniently for him to communicate.

"Winry, we never get you involved because we never wanted to take anything from you and Pinako. We care too much to let you into the danger we put or selves through."

"Why do you do it then if it's so dangerous!"

"Because there were things out there that we wanted bad enough to give up everything or die trying. We just didn't want to stay because we didn't wish to owe you for the pain that being directly involved would bring. We have so many things to worry about but we chose this for our selves. We gave up our childhood for knowledge, we gave up our lives for success and we have it. But I think we just took too much so we have to give and suffer until we pay off what ever debt we've made in the world."

Winry was silently wiping her eyes as she held on the paper. "What about what I gave up? You took my childhood happiness when you tried to bring your mother back. You took my contentment when you left us. You took a normal life from me when I had to chase after you to make sure you both were alive. You took my heart when I chose to care about what happens to you. I've given up just as much Ed and you haven't returned any of it. I mean, I accepted that you didn't care for me the same way I cared about you a long time ago and I've moved on but the least you could do is let me know that you both care about the way I feel. I try hard you know and here you are always winding up hurt without a care regardless of how I feel."

"We care about you a lot. We care about your safety a lot and we hate even taking from you, Winry. You matter to us just as much as we matter to each other. I'm sorry if isn't nearly enough."

"No…It's enough. BesidesI know you'll leave me again. Just please, when you go off, think about us before risk your life."

Ed nodded. Winry gave a sad smile and leaned over to hug him close. Sure he was older but she still looked down on them as little brothers. Her embraces were always so protective and he even had to admit that he missed it. Outside, Mustang stood outside the door listening to the girl's feelings. He had taken Ed away from her but he felt no regret for it. If she didn't blame him then he had no reason to blame himself. Still, he wondered how Ed felt about it. Why did he keep coming back to them when he could have just ignored every order he's ever given and did it their way no matter what he told them? He mentally shrugged and stepped away from door.

The week and a half passed slowly though Roy saw that his men were enjoying the time off from paperwork and orders. They had time to enjoy the simple things like how the stars looked at night or what shape a certain cloud was. Ed and Al had left to pay a visit to their mother and Sloth's graves. He could only guess they had given the homunculus a gravesite next to their mother's. He figured it was because the artificial being was important because she held memories of them and the time they spent with their mother. They came over the horizon with den trailing behind. He watched Fullmetal brush his bangs out of his eyes as the wind combed through the sun kissed strands. He secretly hoped the boy wouldn't cut his hair; it was very becoming and made him more attractive. Without his arm and normal leg he seemed to be more real. It was like a reality check every time he looked at it letting him know that Ed's predicament was true and there was nothing that could be done about it. What was beginning to get worse was the hunger. It was back due to his constant fasting and morals. Hawkeye had took better to what she was because she understood the hunger as a necessity of being a soldier and general so she fed regularly to stay in peak condition. He however was more reluctant to feed from anyone and that made him a bit weaker and paler by the day and worst of all, he had begin eyeing Fullmetal for more than just his looks. For example, the veins in Ed's neck were becoming increasingly tempting and every cut Ed received made his head dizzy to the point that he would have to leave the room abruptly. Ed had noticed this more often and tried to make a point to be more careful about his skin. The same night, Ed lay awake next to Al who had his back turned to him. He knew his brother wasn't asleep because Al had trouble sleeping since he had not done it much in his lifetime.

"Niisan?"

Ed made a move to let him know he heard him. Al turned over to face him.

"I heard you and Winry and I wondered, why don't you stay this time?"

One thing he didn't understand between he and Al was that Al could understand what he said just by speaking the words against his skin. Ed took his brother's hand and placed Al's wrist to his mouth.

"Because I can't be happy here anymore. There's too much I want to do."

"I understand."

"Al, there's something I want you to do."

"What?"

"I want you to stay here."

"What!"

"Stay with Winry. It's the least we can do and you're the only one who can do it. We owe her too much already and I think we should start trying to give back. But I can't because…"

"I know, either way it goes you'll have to go back and it'll be a while that before I can do anything useful. I'm still off balance."

"Exactly. Please stay with her?"

Al nodded. "I will I promise…but only for now"

Ed smiled and watched him turn over. He heard his brother take a deep breath letting him know he had more to say.

"Say, Ed? What…what keeps you going back to Central? If you really wanted to, you could break away and do whatever you wanted on your own. What's in Central that isn't here or anywhere else?"

Ed blinked in surprise at the question. He never really asked himself why he came to the military over and over again he just always knew he had to come back. He cuddled close to his brother's back and nuzzled the warm skin he'd missed for five years. He pressed his mouth to the serpent cross on the nape of Al's neck and mouthed an answer.

"I don't know. Trust when I find out you'll be the first to know."

Al shuddered and put his arm over the flesh arm of his brother leaning back against him with a light blush rising to his cheeks. Ed nibbled sleepily on Al's shoulder and hugged him possessively. Al smiled.

"Goodnight, Niisan."

"Goodnight, Al."

"Look at his face!" Havoc snickered.

Ed glared at the laughing man showing promises of slow pains later as Winry and Pinako were attaching his nerves to the automail. He twitched when Breda and Farman were holding back laughter. Was he really making that funny of a face? He couldn't blame them. They didn't know how painful this truly was. Ed sat there praying that he'd gotten use to the pain even though he knew he hadn't. At least Den was being supportive by resting by him and licking his good hand. He pet the dog and sighed when heard Winry say "Ready." He eyed Roy out the corner of his eye who sat next Al waiting to see what the mechanics were doing. The general had never seen automail built and attached making him curious about Ed's reaction to it. Pinako and Winry placed their wrenches in place and begin to count.

"1."

"2."

"3!"

They twisted the wrenches sending shockwaves of pain into Ed nerves making him freeze and make a face of pure pain as he doubled over panting. Al helped them lay Ed down as he cringed from the shocks in his leg and arm. Well at least they weren't laughing anymore. Roy watched as Ed went limp as they were moving him and felt the urge to actually worry over him. Winry explained that having to replace an automail port and receive new limbs put too much on him in a short amount of time. Pinako assured them that he'd be up and trying to wreck it again in the morning. They day passed on and Ed was moved to the bedroom he and his brother shared while everyone was forced to help clean up, get firewood and cook. Pinako even made them do repairs to house since they weren't doing anything. She worked them so hard that Roy's comrades suddenly wished they'd took the offer to leave. She didn't force Roy and Hawkeye to work too hard during the day giving them the implication that she already knew what they were. Around evening, Roy was asked by Winry to check on Ed's condition. He definitely knew this was a bad idea yet he found himself alone with said obsession lying still unconscious on the bed with his lips slightly parted. The red rays of the setting sun were shining down on the blond making his skin glow. Roy felt his gums itch as his fangs threaten to show themselves. Involuntarily he moved closer to the bed and kneeled down beside him leaning over the angelic face of his subordinate. He never realized it but when Ed slept he looked so innocent as if he hadn't aged from the first night he found him lying in the Rockbell's living room. He brushed the long bangs from Ed face and leaned close brushing his lips across the boy's mouth. Pressing his mouth fully to Ed's, he felt his fangs break through his gums and the hunger rise in his gut. Ed, still unconscious tilted his head up reflexively against Roy's mouth. The ex-colonel moved away from Ed's mouth to his now exposed throat brushing his fangs over the sensitive skin. Ed shivered lightly squeezing the sheets with his left hand while Roy's fangs found his pulse and sunk slowly into the soft skin. Before he could taste the blood he heard a gun cock behind him.

"Sir, step away from him now." Hawkeye's voice reached his ears bringing him out of his daze. Lifted himself from Ed and turned away from him to face his second in command. She held a pistol aimed at him ready to shoot if he didn't come to his senses. Roy stared at her for a moment trying to call back his normal self. She went to him and took his arm to help him stand keeping the gun ready if his hunger decided to over run his sense. They Looked toward the doorway to find Alphonse standing there staring there in shock with a light pink on his cheeks. They stood that way for a long while as both sides tried to contemplate what to say. Alphonse spoke first.

"So you're both one of those things aren't you?"

Hawkeye's eyes turned to the floor and Mustang slowly nodded. Al approached them and took Roy's arm helping him to another room. He closed the door being mindful to lock it and sat down with them.

"How could you tell?" Hawkeye asked.

"My first clue was how pale you both are now and how in some instances Miss Hawkeye would be her natural color but by the next day she was pale again. Then when you kept getting up when brother got cut or the wounds opened I figured it out. This was proof. Why were you going after my brother?"

"We weren't it was just a stupid idea. Winry asked me to check on him and I lost control when I entered the room."

"It's because you haven't eaten since you've been here?"

"How did you-"

"Your skin hasn't changed color. Listen, I think I can help you."

"Oh and how's that, Alphonse," Roy asked skeptically.

Al carefully slit his wrist making both gasp and step back. "I'm a homunculus and I except that. I can help you in the sense that I can't die from blood loss. You can take what ever you need from me and I'll heal on my own by tomorrow. I don't mind as long as I can help in some kind of way. Just don't hurt my brother; that's all I ask."

Hawkeye took a deep breath being tempted to take up the offer but silently refusing Al and herself. Roy wasn't so lucky to actually have the resolve to say "no." He slowly stood and took Al wrist standing him up. The smell of blood was thick in his senses and he couldn't help but run his tongue over the gushing vein. Al watched slightly nervous by the color change in Roy's eyes as they shifted from their dark coal colored blue to a pale nearly colorless blue. He sucked on the wound a final time before tilting Al's chin up and sucking slightly on his throat. By this time Hawkeye turned away and hurriedly left the room not wanting to do this anymore than she had to. She mad sure the door was locked and slid to the floor in front of it panting and shaking. Inside, Roy bit into the younger Elric's neck and sucked the sweet perfected blood from his veins. Al arched into Roy's hold tilting his head back giving more room to him. His hands wound into the fabric of Roy's shirt trying to find something for leverage and prayed his legs wouldn't give out beneath him. As if hearing his thoughts, Roy lead Al to the bed with his face still buried in his neck and sat pulling Al into his lap. Al shifted until he straddled the general's waist and rested his head on Roy's shoulder. His hands absentmindedly wondered beneath Roy's shirt and drug his nails across the hardened skin making the vampire's teeth dig deeper into his flesh. A quiet moan escaped his lips and he began to feel the effects of the blood loss. He felt dizzy and sleepy as his body temperature dropped. Al couldn't stay awake with the blood leaving his body so quickly and soon his eyes closed slowly as his hands stilled and his head remain resting against Roy. The general pulled back completely satisfied and ran his fingers through the unconscious boy's hair. His skin was cold and pale now making him look lifeless. Mustang carefully laid the honey blond boy onto the bed and covered him with a blanket for warmth. He had to admit, Al was right. The bite marks had sealed and the color was slowly returning to his skin. Roy quietly exited the room to find Hawkeye sitting beside the door biting her wrist to relieve the tension in her body. He placed a hand on her shoulder making her turn to him with pale pink eyes, a result of the hunger. He touched her cheek in a silent apology. This was going to be a long road for both of them.

As promised, Ed was up before dawn dragging a groggy Al from bed. It was five in the morning and no one was happy about hearing crashes and bangs in their sleep. Pinako and Winry, being use to this, slept right through. The guests looked outside the window with cranky glares at the two as they sparred on the lawn. Roy watched them fight realizing that if not in their right minds they really could kill each other with sheer force. It was amazing that they were so strong yet so young alchemy aside. It was a couple of hours before they both were spread out on the grass. The other soldiers had long since gone back to bed cursing at the brothers for waking at odd hours. Only Roy remained awake watching both boys. He assumed they had no idea they were being watched by the way they continued on without a care. What happened next, however, caught him completely off guard. Al had reached over and brushed the hair from Ed's face running his fingers through his braid causing it to unravel. He then pulled his elder brother to him and locked him in a kiss. Ed seemed surprised but didn't pull away at all. Instead he leaned into and was carefully pulled on top of Al who rested a hand on Ed's hip and a hand in his hair. Mustang watched the tender way they looked at each other when they parted and wondered how long this had been going on. Sure he had considered having Ed from the start but the idea of having both was completely out there. He never considered splitting them up but he hadn't known that they were _that_ involved with each other either. Roy, however, couldn't rule out that Al was as equally attractive as Ed now that he was in the flesh and the idea was very appealing but that meant he would have to reevaluate how this would work if he wanted them both. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for being greedy but no one would turn down this opportunity. Al apparently was the only one Ed would trust to be that close anymore. If Al trusted him then Ed would trust him. After all, where one went the other would definitely follow.

He was startled when he caught Alphonse looking up at him while Ed's face rested in the crook of his neck. They were so innocent and overwhelmingly curious but there was something else behind those eyes. Mustang figured that going from just armor to full flesh human had changed the boy a bit but that look was downright unnerving. Keeping eye contact with Roy, Al gently pressed his mouth to the juncture of Ed's shoulder and neck. Roy shuddered when he saw Al's lips part and slowly bite the tender spot there. Ed shuddered and clenched the fabric of his brother's shirt in what Roy knew was not pain. Al's hand traveled down his brother's spine making Ed shudder violently. Ed lifted himself up looking down at Al who took his glance away from Mustang to keep him from knowing they were being spied on. Roy couldn't understand what Ed had mouthed into the younger brother's skin but he could hear Al.

"You're right, niisan. We shouldn't do this out here someone'll see us. I can wait until you come back for me. By then you'll heal won't you?" he asked running his finger's through Ed's sun colored hair.

"Yeah," Ed mouthed against his shoulder. "I'll comeback for you and I'll be yours again. You'll see."

"You haven't let me down yet," Al said with a smile. "While you're gone though…I don't mind if you find some else to care for."

Ed lifted his head and looked at Al surprised. Al laughed. "Don't look at me like that. You'll be gone for a while and I know it. I won't be there to hold you in your sleep so I don't mind if you find some else to fill my place until we see each other again."

Ed gave one is sad smiles that Al thought to be the most beautiful yet most painful that could ever don his brother's face. He touched Ed's cheek affectionately. "You'll forget with time and patience, okay?"

Ed nodded and rested his head on Al's shoulder nuzzling it lovingly. Al was the only one he wanted this close. There was no one else who could ever hope to be loved by him as much as Al. Al tilted his head back while petting Ed's hair and looked up at the still spying general. Roy narrowed his eye at the look. It almost looked as if he were asking something of him. The Al gave a quick glance at Ed and back at Roy. The events of the day before came back to his mind.

_ "Just don't hurt my brother; that's all I ask."_

Roy nodded at the younger Elric before leaving the window and the boys alone. That was going to be hard he knew that much for sure.

Later that afternoon, the train's whistle blew loud signaling a last call for passengers out of Rizembul. Ed gave a hug to Winry and Al planting a secret kiss on his brother's neck. Winry and Al cried of course as Ed got onto the train. From the window he tossed Al is red jacket mouthing that he didn't need it anymore. Al caught it and hung it over his arm as he waved goodbye. As Rizembul station disappeared over the horizon, he began to wonder why it felt like he wasn't leaving home at all. He sat back in his seat next Havoc and Fury with Hawkeye and Mustang across from them. Breda and Farman had the unfortunate luck of being stuck across from Armstrong who proceeded to tell them of his family history. A few minutes into the trip Havoc spoke with a cigarette between his lips.

"I almost forgot. You got a telegram from HQ this morning while you were packin," he said handing a yellow piece of paper to Roy.

He skimmed over it narrowing his good eye slightly and arching an eyebrow at the end. Havoc took a drag of his cigarette and smirked with amusement. Hawkeye snatched it reading out loud.

"To Major General Mustang. Upon return to Central Head Quarters you are hereby ordered to accommodate newly promoted Fullmetal Alchemist Colonel Edward Elric within your personal lodgings. The dorms at the moment have been deemed unsafe by the brass and it is in the best interest of all high-ranking alchemists to be off Central Head Quarters until informed otherwise. In the meantime you are in charge of Fullmetal's well being. It is hoped that you have a safe journey back to central. Signed: Fuhrer William G. Marshall."

Ed did a double take giving the best "WHAT THE HELL!" looks he could possibly muster. Roy shrugged it off. Ed took out a pad and pencil and wrote extreme capital letters.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN!"

Roy merely shrugged and smirked. "It just means you're living with me for a while."

Ed sighed and slumped into his seat. He really owed the world a lot but this was ridiculous. Living with the general and having to face that pompous smirk every day? Equivalent exchange was turning into a cruel bitch!

Konoko: thanks for making it to the end now for the love of god review!


	3. Chapter 3: Fighting Jealousy

Konoko: Okay did something embarrassing. Kudos to the person who noticed that all through the first and second chapter I spelled Falman's name Farman. You have good eye because I didn't notice until I was rewatching the FMA episodes I taped to keep people in character. Ah he's a tight ass anyway so no worries I'll get it right. I'm liking the reviews so far. You're all making me a very happy child. Let's see what we've got. Mija you first caused I like it best.

Mija: Well Hawkeye feeds off someone and you'll find out whom in this chapter. I thought a serious brother

complex between the two would help my plot in the long run. And yes Roy would make one of the sexiest

vampires though I didn't want him to take to it too quick. But trust he'll take to it _real _good real soon.

Lady Lemonade: Your screen name makes me thirsty. Anyway, I tried to do the indention thing but it wouldn't

work. Trust I really wanted to. And try really hard to get most of the typos but sometimes I miss

them. Sorry about that. Glad you like. Keep reviewing for me.

Catey: Short and Sweet thanks. I'm gonna keep my updating about four maybe five days apart from each other

From now on. I couldn't at first because I've been at a summer camp.

Silver Angel Kira: I'll be sure to read it when I get a chance to.

Jen: He already knows he just isn't sure about the behavior so he doesn't know what to expect.

Joyce: Wow thank you. I try to do my best

DarkAngeloftheTwilight: Yeah he hates his guts so living together is going to be horrible. It's going to spread out for a

few chapters too.

Bakuras-Hell: Thanks just keep reading

Pichu1728: There's a lot more Ed and al in there we just aren't there yet.

Disclaimer: Don't own it buddy! Justice is mine though.

Cruel Angel

Chapter Three: Fighting Jealousy

Aquaroya lay in total silence as the people began turning in after a Friday night of partying. Clara had no reason to steal tonight, after all, who worked on weekends? She stretched walking home after having a good time with some friends. Yawning she took in the beautiful moon and wondered idly whether Ed had found what he was looking for and whether he grew up. He would make a handsome man for some lucky female…she snickered. Or a pretty uke for some lucky male. Whichever one he would be the most aggressive thing they'd ever seen. Clara wished she could see which side he took or if he took both. That would be interesting. She swayed slightly tipsy from the alcohol they had at the party and her feet were killing her in the high heels she had chosen for the night. As she walked the quiet streets rustling sounds caught her attention. She looked around her ready to unzip the array on her chest only to find nothing more than some stray cats. She sighed in relief and immediately decided to lay off the booze for a while. She continued walking until the sound of another set of footsteps matching hers hit her ears. She picked up the pace unzipping the array on her chest and turning to face her stalker. She blinked a couple of times before it sunk in that no one was there.

"The Great Purifier…"

Clara looked around her trying to find the owner of the new male voice.

"The primordial soup in which all beings are spawned…"

"Who are you?" Clara shouted feeling sudden fear enter her heart.

"Its greatness would carry on as a perfect liquid in which thou can be so diluted in that thou would become the purest elemental power…"

Clara froze with wide-eyed fear as a hooded figure in all black approached her slowly, his hand reaching out to her.

"It shall crystallize as the purest stone within thy who is outwardly impure…"

Clara felt her chest tighten as she doubled over. She clutched her chest and the array shown a bright cerulean blue. Something was pushing from inside her and it wanted to burst through her chest. She fell to her knees as the dark figure loomed over her, his hand over her head.

"Let the elemental stone the Aquarius cast aside thy protector and be brought forth into a world of need to create the Angel of all Cruelty."

Clara bent forward and cried out as her array glowed brighter. Her eyes dulled from their crystal blue and she jerked backwards a cerulean crystal pushing out of her chest as she screamed in pain. The dark figure drew the stone out further with a glowing array circling his wrist. Clara fell limply backwards onto the pavement her breath shallow and ragged. Her eyes had gone pitch black and stared at the stars unseeing. The figure watched the stone float above the palm of his hand a smirk playing across his hooded face.

"And thou shall behold the stone of perfect purity and rejoice for the time has come to reclaim those thou hath sired so that they may inherit the world."

-------------------------------------

The train pulled into Central station late in the evening and all the passengers poured out tiredly. Ed, Roy and their entourage were among them and all were equally exhausted. Roy dismissed his men to go home and get rest because traveling would not excuse them for being late for duty. Armstrong gave Ed a crushing hug and wished him well, which resulted in the popping of Ed's spine. As they departed from each other, Roy and Ed walked in silence toward Roy's house. The entire time, Ed noticed, Roy kept his blind eye to him and said nothing. It wasn't as if he actually wanted to talk to the man. It was just that he was use to Mustang making smug comments about him and this silence was irregular. Still, he didn't feel like getting upset over something so petty anymore so he supposed there was no point to it. He wished it weren't so silent so that he wouldn't think. He wouldn't think about the dark prison and its tight walls, the Brigadier General's grin, the hands on his skin and the painful bites, or the feeling of-

Ed stopped holding his mouth in order to stop the bile that had rushed up his throat. Roy blinked as his charge darted into an alleyway wincing at the sound of vomiting. He followed Ed and held his braid back as he emptied the contents of his stomach. Ed stood there a moment retching every now and then while Roy stood waiting. He knew he couldn't comfort the boy because any touch right now would set off Ed's memory. Besides, he just wasn't the type to give comfort and Ed wasn't the type to receive it. Instead he just stood and waited for Ed to regain himself. Sure enough, the young alchemist stood up straight spitting and wiping his mouth. Roy began to walk away and Ed followed in silence shaking slightly from throwing up. Ed looked up at Roy's blind eye and idly wondered what the skin looked like beneath it.

They reached Roy's home after and hour-long walk. During that whole hour, Roy said nothing to Ed and vice versa. It just wasn't the time. The house was simple enough, an average two-story house with a good-sized yard that gave it a very homey appearance. Roy unlocked the door and let Ed go in before him switching on the light for the blond to see. It as simple inside as it was outside. A hall leading to a set of stairs with the living room to the right and the dining room to the left where the kitchen was connected. Ed looked around turning to the general who was taking off his trench coat and hanging it on the coat rack. He mentally shrugged and unbuckled his black jacket revealing the polished automail he brandished. Roy took a moment to look Ed over while he wasn't looking. He was able to see just how much his muscles had grown and how tall he'd managed to become. The kid actually reached his shoulder now he supposed it counted as something. Still it seemed that the young alchemist was growing more attractive the longer he stayed around him. Ed looked back at Roy expectantly, catching his attention.

"We can go straight to sleep. The spare room is cluttered with storage boxes so you'll have to sleep in my room until it gets cleaned."

Ed's eyes widened though Roy couldn't see it due to his back being turned. Sleep in the same bed as Mustang? The universe couldn't hate him that much!

"In the mean time, I'll sleep on the couch. You don't have to report in tomorrow because as far as anyone is concerned you are still on leave until a week from now. The bedroom is upstairs down the hall to your left."

Ed gave a look of relief and nodded at Roy. Thank you, universe. He trudged upstairs into Roy's room expecting to find some proof that the general was a complete and total player as the rumors said. Surprisingly there was nothing incriminating, it was just a normal room; he had a nice bed though, the black sheets were a nice touch. He dropped his jacket tiredly on the floor and slid off his pants crawling into the cool satin sheets. Mustang's scent was all over the pillows and blankets. It was an attractive scent of cinders and some cologne he wore everyday. Ed buried his face in the pillows finding comfort in the fact that they smelled nothing like blood and steel as Manning's bed had. He curled into a tight ball trying to make himself as small as possible and closed his eyes drifting into his first deep sleep in a while. Roy peeked into his room through a crack in the door. It satisfied him to know that Ed was comfortable enough to fall asleep quickly. He thanked whatever force made him clean the sheets two days before they left to release him from prison. At least that part went right; it was the rest of the stay he had to worry about.

The next morning Ed was awakened by the piercing sound of Roy's alarm clock. He uncovered his head slightly to eye the evil thing. Beneath the sheets he clapped his hand and reached out for the machine to blow it to bits.

"Do it and you'll buy me a new one."

Ed looked at Mustang who sat at the foot of the bed putting on his boots. His eye patch lat beside him and his hair was damp indicating he had just taken a shower. Ed's eyes were to blurry to register what time the numbers on the clock but he knew it had to be too early if Roy was still able to threaten. He flopped back down on the pillow and covered his head hoping to go back to sleep. It'd be a cold day in hell before he bought him anything.

"Try not to go too far alone today, Ed. I got a call from Hawkeye saying that the reason the dorms are off limits is that they found your dorm trashed as well as several other high-ranking alchemists' dorms. They were all colonels."

Ed shrugged not really caring at the moment. It pissed him off to know that the same government that chucked him in jail are going out of their way to protect him. He felt Roy get off the bed and he watched from over his shoulder as the soldier carefully replaced the eye covering.

"Just don't go too far from HQ if you do decide to leave and don't pick up any strangers, that's an order," he commanded looking back at Ed.

Ed huffed and turned over to get more sleep. Roy left the room fastening his jacket and picked up his trench and hat. The autumn whether was starting to get colder. It wouldn't be long before snow fell in Central. It was a good morning to walk to work he supposed. After all, his car had been left at Head Quarters. By the time he got to the steps outside the place, the sun was well in the sky and his pocket watch read 7:02. Two minutes late, Hawkeye would shoot him as soon as he walked in. When he walked in, the place was in an uproar over some order from the brass. Something about a woman being brought in later today from Aquaroya. He'd get Hawkeye to fill him in when he got to the office. If he wasn't dead first. To his surprise not a shot was fired. Instead, all of his subordinates were busy with paper work giving him the image a lovely pile stacked on his own desk. He sighed.

"What's this about?"

"One alchemist Clara a.k.a. Aquaroya's biggest celebrity thief Psiren has been sent here to Central," Havoc answered holding up a report on it. "Rumor has it she was found in an alley unconscious with her eyes black and half open. Said it was a product of powerful alchemy"

"That's not the worst part," Hawkeye said filing another stack. "When she came to, her eyes were still black and she continued to murmur something. I can't remember what I was."

"I have that part, sir," Fuery said holding up a sheet of the report. " She said 'And thou shall behold the stone of perfect purity and rejoice for the time has come for those thou hath sired so that they may inherit the world' No one's sure what it means."

"Most of the alchemist they assigned to research it wouldn't touch the subject. Something about the area being more taboo than human transmutation. They won't even talk about it." Havoc explained.

"And?" Roy asked.

"That's all we could get off the morning gossip and reports," Havoc answered shuffling a stack.

It was times like these that he wished Hughes was still alive. He would have more to go by if Hughes was on the case. That thought was pushed from his head quickly as feelings of depression began to surface. He went into his office to find it just how imagined, three boxes of files with a healthy dose of paper work on his desk. Sighing he sat with his pen ready and ordered Havoc to get him a large cup of coffee. This was going to be a very long day. Hawkeye opened the door and leaned in.

"Another thing, sir. You've been charged with finding a new Intelligence Operative to replace Brigadier General Hughes. They want to get all the important positions filled and get the military back to its original power."

"I thought it was filled."

"Yes, by Brigadier General Manning. But he has been discharged and I doubt he'll be coming back."

"Hmm. I think I have the perfect person for this," he said with a smirk. "But they'll have to wait a while…he hasn't taken his exam yet."

----------------------------

It was the afternoon when Ed's body willed him away from sleep. He lay there in a daze for a long while before finally getting up and opting to take a good long shower. He let his hair loose being careful not to tangle it in his automail hand. It unraveled under the hot water and lay heavily against his back. He took a hand full of it and looked at it. Definitely had to cut it otherwise he'd be tripping over it in less than a month. He sighed and stood with his face under the showerhead rinsing away the sleep. After an hour or so he stepped out finding an ample amount of towels to dry his waterlogged hair. His clothes were dirty so there was no way he could put them on again. He eyed Roy's closet debating the issue with his brain. Surely Roy wouldn't miss anything until Ed could get his new clothes. He opened it and found a pair of jeans along with a black button up shirt. Putting them on he transmuted the jeans to fit tight and made the shirt a size smaller so that it was comfortable enough to be worn open over a muscle shirt. He transmuted a pair of the general's old shoes into new walking shoes and put them on. Going down stairs he felt strange about going through the cabinets so he decided he would eat elsewhere. He just needed the checkbook to his bank account. After fetching it out his suitcase along with a little pocket change, Ed left the house with one of the general's extra jackets and walked down the street finding it quiet, sunny and cool. He waved to people who recognized him like the baker's wife and some of the people who ran the shops and alchemy bookstores. He stopped in one of the cafés and sat down to take care of priority one. It was a little embarrassing to order but he knew the waitress and she took care not make it obvious the he couldn't speak. Instead she made it seem like he had a bad cold when people stared. She winked at him when she brought his food.

He found himself being watched as he ate and normally he wouldn't give a rat's ass but after recent events he was bit paranoid about people staring. If he still had his voice he'd give the bastard a piece of his mind but a glare would have to do. He stole a glance to the side of him to find a boy maybe a year or two older than him casually watching him. His hair was black with an unnatural red shine to it that was cut into short hairstyle that hung in his face and his skin was dark like cinnamon that glowed in the sunlit café. Three tiny hoops hung from his right ear with a stud on the left. He wore a simple button up shirt with a pair of black slacks. He stood out more than Ed considering the shirt was crimson red. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark glasses that gave Ed a hint as to who he was. An Ishbalan in plain sight and not even trying to hide from public view. Plus, he was attractive to boot, which explained why the glare never came. Edward blinked and made eye contact with him. They stared at each other for a while before the boy stood and went to sit down across from Ed with a gently smile. He ordered a cup of coffee from the waitress and rested an arm on the table. Ed quirked an eyebrow and continued to eat keeping his eyes on this new stranger.

"Forgive me for staring, I couldn't help but notice you come in. It's not everyday you see a male walk in with that much hair. It's becoming of you."

Ed reflexively tried to mutter "thank you" but only mouthed the words. He then averted his eyes from the stranger. The stranger smiled and boldly reached out to turn Ed face back to him. "And it's not everyday that you meet a mute in Central."

Ed's eyes widened and then narrowed suspiciously. The other boy was ever smiling. "Don't worry, I just have an eye for these things. Besides, I've seen you once before, Fullmetal. You and your brother helped a group of us get out of Central a year ago."

Oh yeah, he remembered now. He saw this boy before on the boats that Scar and the refugees left on. He sighed and looked up at the stranger. "Okay, so you're not dangerous, what do you want?" he was careful to mouth every word carefully so that he could understand.

"Nothing really, I just wanted your company, Elric. My name is Justice and it would be a pleasure to get know you better."

Ed gave him an odd look. "You hittin' on me?"

"No," he said with a smirk reminded him a lot of Mustang. "Just a new person in town making friends."

Ed shrugged and stood leaving money on the table for the bill. When he didn't do anything about begin followed, Justice assumed it was okay to accompany him. Ed found it easy to communicate with this Ishbalan since he seemed very fluent at reading lips. It was just like talking again save for the voice part. Plus, it wasn't so lonely when there was someone there to talk to. They went to a clothing store so that Ed could get new clothes and a new trench coat which made him eye the red ones they had with feeling of nostalgia. He remembered he'd given up the red and figured it was time for a change. He felt something drape over his shoulders and he looked at the sleeves of a pure white trench coat with a hood. He turned to see Justice eyeing him speculatively. Ed took off one of his gloves and felt the soft material of the coat deciding he liked it.

"It looks good on you. White complements your hair nicely. I think you should have it gold trimmed if you're going to do anything to it."

Ed shrugged but bought the coat along with a set of new black clothes. He wore them out the store stopping only to transmute the gold trim and serpent cross on the back of the trench coat. He looked at it judgingly and put it on feeling it fit comfortably over his new black sleeveless turtleneck and loose-legged leather pants with a gold circle around his left leg. One black glove covered his automail hand and the original white glove covered his human one. Finally he could do something about that braid of his.

"Where we goin' now?" Justice asked.

Ed picked up his braid and made his fingers like scissors going through it. Justice gave a confused look.

"Why would you cut it?"

"Too long." He mouthed.

"I see. A suggestion?"

"You're going to tell me anyway."

"Just trim it. Leave it long but trim it so it doesn't get in your way."

Ed looked at the braid understanding it not to be a bad idea. He did like how long it was. Still, it bothered him that this guy made suggestions like he knew Ed inside out. It was starting to creep him out. Yet every time he'd look Justice in the face he'd loose his reason to argue and just went with it considering he was gaining from the whole thing. So he agreed to not chop all the hair he'd grown off. Instead he got it trimmed up to his lower back and left his bangs the way they were. To top it off, he got an ear pierced twice for hoops like Justice's. He always did want to get an earring or two. Justice complimented the new look and offered to buy dinner if he wasn't ready head home. Ed shrugged and smiled for the first time that day.

-------------------------------

At the office, Roy was dismissing his subordinates for the night. Hawkeye finished the last of her worked and asked if he needed anymore help before she left. Receiving a "no" she left the building to find Havoc waiting for her. Roy watched them from the window with a slight envy about him as Havoc wrapped an arm around her waist. He had immediately thrown his cigarette away before the woman got the urge to play target practice with it. She walked with him to her house letting her hair down from the clip. Havoc ran his fingers through it as they reached the door and smiled when she leaned into the touch. She let him in and the moment the door closed Hawkeye pressed him against it kissing him and unbuttoning his uniform. Havoc kissed her back mirroring her hands and wrapping his arms back around her waist afterwards.

Jean Havoc had an addiction. An addiction that was worse than the cigarettes he puffed every other second. It had started when he was only thirteen and followed him all his life. A military attack on his hometown back when everyone in the military was a vampire had given him this addiction. The soldiers used him as a supply of young blood and every time they bit him he loved it, creating the fetish for having his neck bitten and his body drained to unconsciousness. That's when fate led him to Hawkeye on her first night of being what she was. He found her in the street feeding off some poor unfortunate man who had been out too late. He had frozen when her eyes had turned to him, beautiful pale pink eyes and lips dripping blood. She backed away from him crying her eyes out and hovering on the brink of insanity. He slowly went to her trying his best not to scare her and helped her up. He helped her get home while she stared at the ground dull eyed and traumatized. Havoc had set her on her bed and was going to get her a towel to wipe her mouth but she hadn't let go of him yet. Her dead pink eyes stared up at him with reawakened hunger and he couldn't help but stay frozen where he was. Hawkeye pulled him towards her roughly, ripping his uniform and the shirt beneath it. She viciously bit into his neck pulling him down onto the bed and climbing on top. He felt the old addiction rise out of him and didn't fight her as she painfully sucked away his life. Wave of pleasure on pleasure came over him as he slowly slipped into blissful unconsciousness. When he had awoke the room had been torn apart and gunshot holes were in the walls, the product of Hawkeye's nervous break down. Havoc had been cleaned and a bandage was wrapped around his neck while Hawkeye sat in the corner trying to make herself small and unnoticeable. She rocked back and forth causing him to be little scared about her. He'd never seen such a stern no nonsense woman reduced to this. He went to her and lifted her head revealing her normal ruby reds full of tears.

"Thank you," he had whispered, which sent her bawling into her arms. Now they had the unspoken agreement between them. Two addicts whose addictions could not be cured nor satisfied by normal intervention. As long as Havoc would allow her to get the necessary from him, he would receive the necessary from her. No relationship attachments were there. Each was free to do as they wished as long as every time it was needed he came so they could feed each other's addictions. Roy was pleased that she found someone to help her even when no one else could, but it made him jealous that he had no one to do such a thing. He just wished he could get someone to do the same…

Roy made it home at eleven to find two new coats on the coat rack and a voice in his living room that he didn't recognize. He closed the door softly and peeked into the living room with out being seen or heard. Ed sat on the floor at the coffee table with another boy across from him. A pair of sunglasses rested on the glass table and a set of red eyes on Ed while the teen had his nose in a book. Roy's eye narrowed at the sight.

"It's late, I should go before your superior gets home. You said he'd probably be home around this time and I don't want to get you in trouble."

Ed nodded and handed the book back to him. He refused it. "Keep it. You can have it; I don't need it anymore, Edward." He stood and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Edward smiled and nodded rising to see him to the door. Roy moved into the dining room, watching the Ishbalan walk out the door and Ed wave goodbye. He shut the door and locked it tight going upstairs with the book he'd been left with. In short, Roy was pissed and the urge to tear the boy apart was becoming harder to resist. Outside the boy looked back at the dining room window as Roy turned to stare at him. Roy's eye turned to shining pale blue that gave the warning "stay away" to the Ishbalan. The boy smirked and walked away into the night. Roy turned his attention upstairs as he heard the shower turn on and Ed's footsteps. His eyes still aglow, Roy walked upstairs into his room where Ed's clothes lay on the floor and his silhouette in the shower. He watched the sixteen-year old bathe with his beautiful hair shining under the shower. The one thing he wanted from life for five years was slipping away from him bit by bit thanks to circumstance. Instinct told him to do it now and he continued to fight the idea of traumatizing the boy anymore than he already was, but he couldn't wait. He was desperate, hungry, jealous and downright pissed that Ed brought another stranger openly into his home and actually enjoyed the company. Roy slowly approached the bathroom being silent in each step so that Ed would not hear him there. He slipped into the bathroom watching the blonde's movements very carefully. He was pissed but not stupid; this had to be done right and without Ed knowing before hand. Ed would belong to him and him alone. No one else was going to touch him and he would kill whoever tried. Inching closer, Ed didn't ever hear Roy slide off his uniform and slip into the shower. Being this type of creature had good advantages in the stealth department. Roy had to pause a moment though. Ed's scent was everywhere, even in the steam of the hot water and his fangs itched to sink into the source of that intoxicating smell. It took a lot to remain in control of this situation and he was loosing the battle.

Ed froze when he felt a silent hot breath on the back of his neck and shivered when fangs brushed the side of his neck. He would have screamed if he could which would've given fairer warning to his assailant of the blow to the he would receive. Hard metal connected with Roy's jaw turning his head to the side and causing a tiny rivulet of blood to flow from his lips. Ed crouched in the corner of the shower with flashes of bad memories clawing at his brain. His eyes were wide like a small rabbit that had been cornered by a fox. Roy slowly licked the blood from his lip and walked towards the frightened teen. He grabbed Ed's metal arm first when it was swung at him and pulled him roughly to his feet. Ed tried to fight but was painfully slammed into the tile of the shower wall and pinned there with Roy pressed between his legs. Ed struggled in panic even though he knew he couldn't get loose. Automail or not Mustang had always been the stronger physically. Roy pressed his mouth to his prey's neck softly making Ed shiver and tilt his head away. The general sucked hard on that tender spot for a while until Ed's body slacked slightly. Taking the opportunity, Roy bit hard into the artery causing Ed to claw at him in pain and panic. Feeling the life drain from him Ed slowly relaxed in Mustang's hold and slumped against him. He panted from fatigue and his hands slid away from his assailant falling limply at his sides.

The hot elixir from Ed's veins was the sweetest Roy had ever tasted. The coppery taste of normal blood was not present and the temperature stayed at a constant high making him wonder how any human could have blood like this. Strangest of all it tasted just like Al. Perfect and sweet. He couldn't understand how that was possible considering every human's blood had a different taste even when they even were closely related like Ed and Al. Al? What had he promised him the morning he left? He felt Ed's breath whisper passed his ear.

"Please…stop…"

Felt a drop of moisture hit his shoulder and realized it was from the showerhead. He pulled away from Ed slowly with his mouth dripping innocent blood. Ed's eyes stared dully at nothing with tears on the edge of them. The bronzed irises made a shiver of cold run up his spine as they gazed up at him pitifully.

_Just don't hurt my brother; that's all I ask._

Roy let Ed go slowly watching him slide to the bathroom floor. He backed out the shower and rinsed all trances of Ed's blood from his mouth and tongue but he could still taste it. Sweet and addictive like the latest drug. He cringed when he heard Ed crying softly making him scrub his hands and rinse his mouth more. He promised. Why didn't he remember? He heard a thump in the shower and turned to find Ed had lost consciousness from the blood that ran down the drain. He picked up the boy and dried him off placing him naked in bed and covering him up. Sighing he turned away and used the shower himself to scrub Ed's scent from his skin knowing it wouldn't help. The air was to full of it to forget. There would be no chance of coming clean tonight.

"He's given in to temptation. It won't belong before flame and spirit are ripe for picking."

"I'm not worried about flame just yet. But the spirit must be intact and complete."

"Then why put it through this?"

"Because we have to be sure that the spirit truly is the most powerful stone."

Konoko: Sorry for the long wait. I can't get the indentions to work otherwise this would all look a lot better. Once again congratulations for hitting the end of the chapter. You all know the routine. Don't leave till you review.


	4. Chapter 4: Mother of Liore

Konoko: Yo I'm happy everyone is enjoying what they're getting. I've been really happy about the reviews too. Now everything is completely made up so let me know if you find a plot hole. I have a tendency to have those when I make these kinds of stories. Well, that's it. Welcome to chapter four people.

Disclaimer: You're kidding right?

Cruel Angel

Chapter Four: Mother of Liore.

Alphonse woke in the early morning holding his neck painfully. He panted as the pain receded and he looked toward the window.

"Niisan…"

It had only been a week and he was already feeling he shouldn't have stayed. Living on a promise from the colonel was okay. But living on the promise of the general who was also a vampire was worrying his nerves. This recent dream he had wasn't helping him at all. Ed cornered and frightened pinned against a wall with a predator's teeth in his neck. He was far away and he couldn't help him. He sighed and rubbed away the sleep from his eyes and reached back out of habit to rub the nape of his neck where the serpent cross lay beneath his growing dirty blonde hair.

"Al! Get up! Breakfast is ready," Winry shouted from downstairs.

He smiled and rolled out of bed, getting dressed. His eyes fell on the red trench coat his brother entrusted him with. Winry had repaired and washed it so that it looked new again; of course he could've done it with alchemy but she had insisted. He smiled at it feeling the fabric as it felt the first day he was able to feel again.

"AL!"

He jumped slightly and hurried downstairs. Winry glared at him.

"Geez, fifteen hours of sleep out of the day is more than enough for anybody, Al. You sleep too much as it is. Now go eat before I hit you with my wrench again."

Al laughed rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment. It was true that he had been sleeping a lot but that was because he was still getting use to his body and that required him to rest a lot. But at least it wasn't as bad as Winry claimed. He only slept ten hours for her information. He sighed giving up and sitting down to eat. He still hadn't gotten over his fascination with taste and he doubted he would. Everything seemed to be heightened since he had been brought back. It was fun to taste, touch, and smell again; to feel period was a blessing. The thought of feeling made him miss his brother even more, though. When they were little they did everything together. They slept together with their legs intertwined playfully for warmth during winter. Al had always curled up under his brother during the thunderstorms. It had always been that way but when they went off to learn alchemy after their mother died, they got closer still. At just age nine, Al was beginning to feel things he knew nothing about when he looked at his brother. When they huddle together under the makeshift tents Al always leaned into Ed taking in his scent. He'd always made a point to be able to touch his brother's skin as they slept and rest his head on Ed's chest. All those years in the armor made him miss those times very much and as soon as he could see straight in his new body he had kissed Ed and Ed had allowed it. The best part about everything they had been through from Al's perspective was that they had never rejected one another in anything. They truly were all they had when it came to love. Al wouldn't trade that for anything. But now…now they were separated again although it was less painful considering they weren't right next to each other and separated by a hunk of metal.

"Al?"

Al shook his head and looked at Winry. She smiled sadly. "You were thinking about him again, weren't you?"

Al turned his eyes to the table and nodded. Winry couldn't understand them completely but she knew them enough to know what each was troubled by. "You're getting more and more distant by the day, Al. Maybe you should take a trip, too."

"By myself!" Al exclaimed with a mouth full of eggs.

Winry nodded. "We can't do anything for you as far as experiences go. I think it would be healthy if you traveled alone for a while. You know, find your footing. And when you're ready you can come back to us. But you have to write to us so that we know you're okay. Don't do like last time, Al. Don't let the distance and traveling make you forget we're still here. Let us know how you're doing, okay?"

Al swallowed and considered this. "I never really thought about traveling on my own. I'm use to Niisan being right there with me."

Pinako came into the kitchen. "That's the thing. You boys are growing up. You need to learn about being separated normally for a while. Then you'll have something to talk about when you meet again."

Al nodded. He had to admit they were right even though he never liked being alone. Maybe traveling would take his mind off of missing Ed for a little while. Plus, he was curious to see how everyone else was doing. Still he had promised to stay with Winry. But, when was the last time he'd heard from Russell and Fletcher or even seen Rose, Clara or anybody they knew? Heck, when had he even seen Sensei? Okay maybe that wasn't a good place to visit now that he could bruise.

"Alright then, I'll go. But I gotta let brother know. I don't want go anywhere without letting him know. He'll just worry about me."

Pinako pointed the phone. Al moved to get up but stopped to look back at Winry who had gone quiet. "Are you…okay with this, Winry? I won't leave you if you aren't, you know."

Winry looked up with surprise. "Of course I'm okay with it. It was my idea, you big dummy. I want you to go out and have fun. This town's too small for someone who needs a little adventure in his life. After all, you've been in armor for so long that you need to live a little. Go ahead and go. Grandma and I'll be going off to Rush Valley for a while too. So don't worry, we won't get bored either."

Al smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Ed jumped awake at the sound of a phone ringing next to him. Without thinking he picked it up and tried to say hello immediately slapping himself in the head for forgetting.

Hawkeye's voice came through the receiver. "Edward, your brother called us. He said he was going to Liore for a while. Something about getting an okay from Miss Rockbell."

Ed tapped the phone letting her know he understood though somehow he knew she was reading his mind through the damn thing.

"Another thing, Edward. If the Major General is still at home, wake him and let him know he's late."

Ed shrugged to himself and tapped the phone. She hung up giving a formal goodbye and Ed tossed the thing back on the cradle. He crawled out of Mustang's bed not exactly remembering how he had gotten there. He remembered being in the shower and hearing the general come in. Why did everything go blank after that? Plus, his neck was a bit sore. Maybe he was just tired. He went down stairs to find the general asleep on the couch. He went to him and noticed that he smelt blood all over Mustang. Brushing it off with the obvious fact the general was a vampire, Ed ignored it and shoved the couch over and quickly went to the door to get the paper before Roy hit the floor. The raven-haired man twitched and glared at Ed who was distractedly reading the paper and snickering at the same time. Roy swore he could hang that little blond bastard. Getting up he fixed the couch back and was about to yell at the teen but he couldn't, finding it better just to look at Ed and admire how beautiful his hair looked in the coming sunrise. However, Ed had frozen while looking at the paper and began to scribble on the front. Ed held it up to his face in a horrified and questioning gaze.

"What is this?" he had written.

Roy looked over the paper and realized the front page showed five young boys murdered and drained of their blood just last night. That's when the night before came flooding back to him. His instincts would not let him rest after taking the drug that was Edward's blood. They had driven him out of the house and into the streets and all he could remember was the screams and the taste of each his victims. It had taken so much to satisfy him this time that it frightened him. His eye widened and he looked at Ed who gave him an expression that for once he couldn't read. There was no accusation, no pity what so ever and not even a hint of disgust. Did Ed know it was him? Did he even remember last night? Roy approached him…one step…two…Ed took a step back on the third. Not too close yet not far away, simple body language that said I'm not accusing but I'm wary. Roy sighed and cast his eyes to the floor. Ed picked the paper slowly from the general's hands and began to write with the pen.

"I'm not blaming you."

Roy looked up at Ed in surprise only to catch the boy's back as he disappeared into the kitchen. He couldn't understand how Ed could be unforgiving when a criminal used alchemy as a means of obtaining their goal but when it came to natural wrongs without science he had the mercy of a saint no matter how subtly the mercy was given. He questioned whether Ed had noticed that all five had been young beautiful blonde boys. Ed sat at the table watching the sunrise above the horizon and wondering why the fact that Roy had killed those innocent people didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He needed it to survive. The fact that it was need and not a want and the thought that Roy really had not wanted to kill anymore in his life time made it easy to forgive him because in the end Roy had to carry the weight on his own. He wondered if the general realized that.

"I'm late, Ed," Roy mentioned softly. "I have to get going. The orders from yesterday still stand. Don't…don't pick up any strangers."

Ed nodded absentmindedly rubbing his neck where he had unbeknownst him been bitten by Mustang. Roy flinched when he saw the boy do this and turned away to retreat upstairs. He didn't know how Ed would be able to stay in the same house with him after what happened last night. Ed eyed the doorway strangely when Roy had left so abruptly. He shrugged. Honestly, he didn't have time to worry about it. He had a book to go over with his new Ishbalan friend.

--------------------------

"Alphonse! Is that really you? I thought you were your brother for a minute!"

Rose hugged a blushing Al happy to see him the flesh again. "I can't believe you both made it through! I prayed every night for you both."

Al smiled warmly at her. "Well I made it but my brother refused to get his arm and leg back. He said that his leg was punishment and that his arm was what he gave in exchange for me. There was no point in a refund when he had got what he wanted from it."

"That definitely sounds like Edward. What are you doing all the way in Liore?"

"Well, I'm passing through. The people I was staying with thought it would be best to travel and gain experience on my own since Ed went back to the military."

"Why did he go back?"

"Well, it's just something he had to do," Al said with faint smile.

He had arrived in Liore around sunset and was able to catch up to Rose before nightfall. She mistook him for Edward because he wore the old red trench that his brother had entrusted him with. They sat across from each other speaking about the long ride in the taxi and having run into a few old friends on the way. Al figured it was not a bad start for his first lone trip. Rose explained that she had become a leading official in the town's faith and people had begun to call her the "Mother of Liore." She said the title was weighty but she was honored that everyone put so much hope in her. Al assured her that he trusted she was doing a wonderful job though he and his brother still were atheists. They knew a higher power existed but believing and knowing are two completely different things. Al had never once asked for forgiveness and he honestly didn't intend to no matter how much Rose hinted at it.

"So, Al, have you heard the rumors lately around Liore since you've been here?"

"About the shadow that had attacked Clara in Aquaroya?" he asked grimly. "Yeah, they say they're worried that this shadow might come for you since they figure he might be after those who bring hope."

"I honestly don't think he will come after me because there is a major difference between me and Miss Clara. She's an alchemist and I am not. I'm not worried because I know that God will protect me from evil. But I am worried about you traveling alone. I mean who's to say he isn't just after alchemists whether it is state or not. I want you to stay here for tonight."

Al nodded. "Don't worry, I don't plan on going anywhere yet. I'm just going to take it slow and try to enjoy myself. After all, I'm just as capable as my brother."

Rose smiled. "I like being able to see the confidence as well as hear it. I believe God has forgiven you and has finally allowed you be able to live a happy life now. Don't you?"

Al looked at his hands and smiled a little. "Yes, I think he has."

A sudden black out made both of them gasp. They heard yelling outside and Al quickly made for the window. He looked out into the darkness of the city finding a few people sprawled out on the ground. A fog of black crept along the street toward the temple causing people to collapse when it touched them. Rose covered her mouth with her hand in horror. Al shut the window and used an alchemic charge to melt it shut. He sat Rose down at the table.

"Wait here, I'll be back."

"Al wait!"

"Just stay Rose, I'll be fine."

With that he left the room and locked the door with a clap. He had only just made it down stairs when the black mist had entered the main hall and was collapsing the guards before they could react. In front of the alter, it swirled and formed the silhouette of what appeared to be a woman. The mist fell away revealing a cloaked female whose head was bowed and hooded. Al could see dark plum colored bangs hand low from beneath the cloth of the trench and the metal chains that hung from the wrists beneath the sleeves. She lifted her head and looked straight at the blond though Al could not see her face.

"Who are you!" Al demanded.

He could almost hear the cruel smile in the voice of this threat. "I am Shauda. I have come for the Mother."

"If you've come for Rose you'll have to go through me!"

A pause of surprise? That was a bit strange to Al.

"It is not your time, Asterious. You will be given the chance to fight but I will not go against my kin. Stand aside child."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by kin?"

"I do not have time for this, if you are wise you will stand aside and wait for your destined time to fight. Your stone is not yet complete. You have not fulfilled your purpose," she said walking toward him threateningly. "I will not risk damage to you. Stand aside."

Al clapped and slapped his hands on the ground letting the alchemic lightening wrap around his forearms creating metal gauntlets much like the ones of his armor save for their strength. Shauda sighed and shook her head. To Al's surprise a large array he had never seen appeared before Shauda and the woman pressed her hand to it. She slowly drew it back with a handle of something following. She fisted it and pulled out a black bladed katana in which a dark mist swirled around the blade. Al backed away.

"Impossible…" Al's eyes widened in realization. "Mental Alchemy!"

Shauda laughed. "Those sired are not limited by the laws of simple earthen alchemy. We are the users of Omni Alchemy the very essence of omnipotence. We are gods of the art of true alchemy. I shall ask once more, stand aside child."

Al growled stubbornly. God or no, he would not let this woman hurt the innocent. Al reared his fist back and punched only to be blocked by the blade of the katana, which to his surprise, did not break under the pressure of the metal gauntlets. She swung the katana with a frightening grace making an eerie song echo from the blade. Al dodged and flipped out of the away before it could be brought down on him again. He clapped his hands making the gauntlets turned into two swords and fended off the black blade. He found an opening in her side and thrust the blade into it. Unfortunately for him, she was quicker and smarter. She blocked the blade and slide her sword forward cutting deep into his side. Al stumbled backwards dropping one of his swords to grip his injured side. He winced as Shauda took advantage and shoved her black blade into his shoulder lifting him from the ground and causing a large amount of blood to fall from the wound. Al screamed in pain and was thrown to the side. She sheathed the sword in another array and approached him placing a hand on his cheek. The caress was strange to Al yet so familiar; it was loving and so cruelly guilty like the way his brother touched him. Her hand felt the way Ed's felt.

"You will heal?"

Al's eyes gave a completely confused look at the woman. Shauda leaned close to his face and he was able to only see a pair of beautiful amber eyes that seemed to be a cross of the color of his and his brother's eyes. Her mouth pressed against his softly and as he began to loose consciousness from the blood lost, he swore to god that he saw his brother closed eyed in front of him. Shauda let him slide to the floor in his own blood and watched with hood-shadowed eyes as he breathed deeply. She had time before the homunculus in him took over.

"I was made from you both but I cannot adhere to you. Not yet, loves."

"ALPHONSE!"

Shauda turned to see Rose staring terror struck at the fallen alchemist. The woman turned and walked slowly towards Rose who was frozen with fear. She held out her hand.

"The Great Nurturer…the mother of the world in which beings are given the purist remedy and nourishment…"

Rose gasped as her chest tightened and her heart began to pound. "Oh, god."

"Its greatness would carry on as a mother of light in which thou would be bathed in as a child of faith so that it would become the elemental power of life…"

Rose fell to her knees holding her hands over her heart and crying in pain. "Please…stop."

"It shall crystallize in thee who wished nothing more than to have hope and trust in thy faith and lead others to the light…"

Golden light glowed from Rose's chest and it burned like fire. She sobbed in agony and begged. "Some one help!"

"Let the elemental stone Solaris cast aside thy protector and be brought forth into a world of need to create the Angel of all Cruelty!"

"NO! STOP!" Rose threw her head back and screamed loud. A beautiful amber colored stone broke though her chest and Shauda pulled it slowly leaving the now black-eyed girl lying sprawled out on the floor panting. She smirked at the beautiful stone that held such radiant light.

"And thou shall behold the stone of light and kneel to the power of the faith in those thou hath sired so that they may inherit the world…"

Al awoke to the sound of frantic muttering and dizzily sat up. As he expected all his wounds were closed and nothing more than healthy flesh lay beneath the torn clothing but he still found dull aches in random places. He looked over at Rose who sat with her knees drawn up and head bowed rocking back and forth. Al approached her finally hearing what she was saying.

"And thou shall behold the stone of light and kneel to the power of the faith in those thou hath sired so that they may inherit the world…"

She repeated that over and over again in a dead voice that sent chills up his spine. He slowly touched her shoulder and he felt a sinking feeling his stomach as he shook slightly.

"Rose…?"

Rose stopped rocking and remained very still. Al shook her once again and called her name trying to get a response. Her head snapped up to stare wide eye at him her eyes filled to the brim with black nothingness. Al gave a terrified look as images of the night they created sloth entered his mind. He fainted unable to take the fright.

"Edward, are you alright!" Justice asked holding Ed by his shoulders.

Edward was doubled over on the diner floor making faces of agony. He held his shoulder and side with tears on the brims of eyes. Justice helped him up and out of the diner into the fresh air. Ed took in deep breaths and calmed down as the pain began to reside. He knew what the pain was and it caused a wave of panic to wash over him. He looked up at Justice and his mouth moved frantically before bolting off with the Ishabalan behind him.

"I've got to find my brother!"

A/N: This chapter wasn't as long but I couldn't fit anymore considering I'm a bit behind and that school has started for me. It's wearing me out because I had three essays to do before I was even able to touch my fic. Anyway tell me if sucks or if it was interesting enough to keep reading.


	5. Chapter 5: In the Quiet of the Night

A/N: Hello, my lovely reviewers and readers. I just have to say that hurricane Rita was a bitch and needs to go take some happy pills and go sit her raggedy ass down somewhere. FEMA sucks, Red Cross Sucks and Bush sucks. Man I love America! Anyway, I live in Beaumont and I have one thing to say: THE FUCKIN' EVACUATION WAS WORSE THAN THE GODDAMN HURRICANE! I'm so glad to be back home and back at the keyboard. Though my computer took a surge so now I'm working off a borrowed laptop, how weak is that. But what really bit my ass was the fact that I came home to a perfectly fine home with gas and water and three days later lights! I could have stayed at home for this shit. I understand that a lot of people went through more things than I did, but Jesus Christ I'm glad to be in my own bed and away from the sadistic people I call family. Anyway, I'm just now getting back to typing and I wanted say my deepest apologies for not updating quick enough. So I'm going to see if I can type twice as much and make this story worth the hurricane induced wait. So bear with me and send me some good long reviews so I can keep the inspiration. POWER TO HURRICANE RITA AND KATRINA VICTIMS!

On a brighter note, my friend and I are writing a novel together under the pen name Evanescence of Requiem. It's something we made up and once we're done I'd like for some of you who enjoy what few stories I write, and actually complete, to look for it if it gets publish. If you want a summary of it email me and I'll send it to you. You'll have to wait for a view of the characters, hopefully I'll be getting a scanner soon (with a computer) and I can fix them up for you guys. If you like the summary I'll send the first two chapters of it so I can get an outside opinion. I didn't want to post it here because it would defeat the purpose of us presenting it to the publishers. Anyway, those diehard fans of Cruel Angel please let me know how you feel with a good lengthy review of what you like and I'll improve on my writing skills as I go. I'm working hard and I love it when people tell what I'm doing right and wrong so don't hold back. I welcome flames too because after I read them I use them to heat my M.R.Es I always loose the heating package so I gotta use something

Cruel Angel

Chapter Five: In the Quiet of the Night

Clara always sat on the bed rocking back and forth in the hospital pajamas they had given her. Her haunting dull black eyes stared at the wall with the array on her chest marred and blurred beyond recognition. It had been exactly two weeks since her assault and the doctors had yet to find the culprit or the cure. As the days had gone by she had become increasingly violent. She'd beat at the walls and break windows until it was finally agreed upon to move her to a psychiatric ward where she was placed in a four-wall cell. Three were padded while the other was a large shatterproof two-way glass for observations to be made. There would be times when she'd be docile like a kitten then others when she'd scream and claw at her head as if trying to rid herself of a dark entity inside her skull. She did not eat nor sleep and at some points she would vomit any food they would force into her until they were left with giving her shots to keep fluids and nutrients in her body. Today she sat quietly on her bed in the corner petting a piece of the padding she had ripped off the wall during one of her fits still repeating the last words spoken to her by her attacker. Mustang stood outside the glass watching with a doctor and Hawkeye at his side. They were waiting for the Fuhrer to arrive and to make the time pass the doctor explained her condition and the tests they had been conducting on her.

"In reality there truly isn't a thing wrong with her. She's passed every test resulting in her being a normal healthy sane woman. No one can explain her eyes and the alchemists who came in to test her found only that her condition is the product of alchemy. They can't explain what type," the doctor explained.

"Well the alchemy part is obvious. Something has definitely been broken down and reformed inside her. The problem is it isn't there anymore and everyone else is too scared to touch the subject," Roy speculated.

"Which is why the responsibility rests with you, Major General Mustang," a female voice said.

They turned to see Fuhrer Marshall and a blue eyed blond walking towards them.

"Fuhrer Marshall, sir!" Both saluted. The man as he waved them off.

"At ease, soldiers. Major General Mustang, Brigadier General Hawkeye; I would like you to meet General Elise Million. She is my second in command and she will be your superior as long as you are on this case."

Mustang eyed the woman with an evaluating eye and immediately decided he did not like her. Her lips curved into a malicious smirk as she eyed them both. Hawkeye's eyes narrowed when those steel blue eyes landed on her in a lingering gaze. Mustang was glad Hawkeye didn't like her either.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm sure my men and I can handle this investigation on our own. I've already chosen who is to fill intelligence and I assure you that we are entirely capable of capturing the threat."

"Don't, Major General Mustang. I don't wish to hinder your investigation nor do I require any information from you. I just have one order and that is that anything of major importance be reported to me and at the end of the investigation I would like a full report on the whole of it. Is that so much, Major General?" she stated with a smirk.

Mustang resisted the urge to growl. "No, sir. But-"

"Major General Mustang!" Maria Ross came running toward them. Ran up and gave a rushed salute before she began to explain her sudden intrusion. "Sir, there has been another attack in the Liore settlement! It's the same M.O. as the case from Aquoroya!"

"All right, send Havoc, Breda and Falman to investigate and have the body brought back here."

"Sir, there's something else!"

"What? There were two bodies?"

Ross shook her head. "No, sir. Alphonse Elric was there, Sir."

Hawkeye gave a look of surprise while Mustang nodded expressionlessly. "In that case I'll go myself."

"Mustang?"

All eyes turned to Million who brushed hair from her face. "I want a full report as to why one of the Elrics was there."

Mustang gave way to a glare but he still saluted the woman nodding curtly.

--------------

Justice slid his dark glasses up further as they neared Central Headquarters grabbing Edward so that he would slowdown. They had run the whole way and though he was not tired he couldn't burst into military facility like that. Ed struggled giving the Ishbalan a confused and impatient look.

"I understand how you feel, but let's do this properly. You realize I can't go in there so I want you to go ahead and I'll be waiting at the train station tomorrow if things work out the way we want them."

"Why?"

"I'm going to help you. Now go. I'm sure you're brother needs you."

Ed nodded and ran into the building. Justice watched his new interest disappear behind the door before turning to go to a pay phone. He dialed the military operator and waited.

"Yes, connect me with the Fuhrer's secretary. It's Justice."

Inside an office a young brunette female sat at the desk typewriting a stack of documents with her green eyes tracing back and forth over the text. Her phone rang out breaking the silence of the office and she answered it without missing a beat of her paper work.

"Yes?"

"Kera."

She gasped creating a typo in her paperwork. The other officers in the room turned to stare at her in confusion. Clearing her throat and regaining her senses, she signaled that everything was fine and pressed the phone close to her mouth.

"Justice? You said you wouldn't call this number anymore-"

"Unless, I needed help."

"The Fuhrer won't help an Ishbalan."

"Of course he won't, but he will help someone who knows how to deal with the recent developments."

Kera narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What proof do you offer that you have the means without us to do something?"

Justice smirked as he looked up at the fifth floor window that he knew was Mustang's office. "It's a matter of intellectual leverage. Let's just say, I have the Fullmetal. He and I have taken an interest in each other and he will do anything to help his brother."

"You're using Fullmetal!"

"Of course not! I'm not like you! Listen, Fullmetal is one of them and so is his brother. I get him to fully understand what is going on, he makes Asterius and Rubius understand, then he can do the rest. Plus, you have no option but trust me; otherwise I put all your secrets on the street. As long as you trust me I'll trust you, got it?"

Kera sighed and picked up a pen. "Where will they hit next."

"Zenotyne, then they will immediately go after the Wind and then Moon. The two halves of Florius Stone are still in Zenotyne and Asterius is the only one who can save them. He and Ed are the only ones they can't harm yet."

Kera's pen scratched against the paper quickly. "There will be an order sent to Major General Mustang this evening. He will be ordered under General Million for you and Fullmetal to accompany him on the mission to Liore and to be involved in all investigations."

Justice nodded. "Perfect."

"And Justice?"

"I know. As long as the Ishbalans remain safe we don't have a problem," he stated plainly before hanging the phone.

Inside, Edward knocked frantically on Mustang's door before barging in without waiting for an answer only to find the room empty. Neither Mustang nor his underlings were anywhere his sight. He turned to leave only to run dead into the object of his search. He looked up at Mustang who brushed past him and went to his desk.

"What it is it?"

Ed growled even though no sound came. He stomped to the general's desk and snatched a sheet of paper and a pen. He scribbled frantically and passed it quickly to Mustang. He suddenly missed Justice's habit of speaking for him. Mustang sighed and pushed the sheet of paper aside.

"I already know what's happened. He's in Liore with a woman called Rose. Alphonse had been in the crossfire of a criminal that we've been trying to track down since his attack in Aquoroya. I was hoping you and Alphonse would help but I guess he's already gotten in the middle of it."

Ed snatched the paper scratching the pen violently. "IS HE OKAY!"

"He's fine. Ross said he was fine but he's shell shocked and has been taken into custody by one of my own who's stationed in Liore. He'll look after him until we get there day after tomorrow."

Ed nodded and wrote. "I'm coming then."

Mustang nodded. "I hadn't expected anything less, Hagane."

Hawkeye entered the room with a letter and a file. Placing it on Mustang's desk she greeted Edward who nodded in return. "Sir, it's an order from General Million. She's sending one of her own with you. Some one called theSlayer Alchemist."

Mustang felt himself flinch at the sound of that name. "Interesting title, what's his name?"

"It doesn't say but he's eighteen years old and been under the military's guard since the Ishbal Rebellion. He just recently became a State Alchemist."

Mustang nodded. "She's sending a spy I bet. We'll just have to work as we normally do otherwise they'll think we're up to something." He eyed Ed who stood tapping his foot impatiently. "We're going to have to keep you with us at all times. That means don't investigate on your own!" Mustang ordered. "That's an order."

Ed twitched and made a face.

"I think I prefer it when you're nice and silent. One less headache."

Hawkeye held Ed by the back of his jacket while the boy did his best to put murdering hands on the smirking general. What made him angrier was that he couldn't respond the way he wanted to. He couldn't yell and scream and rant like he used to and that bothered him more than Mustang's comment about his mouth. Hawkeye released him when he finally accepted that he wasn't killing the pompous general today. He opted to stand with back turned and arms crossed. Mustang took a moment to examine the white trench coat that he hadn't noticed before. The pure color stood out more than the red from before yet it seemed so fitting for him making his blonde hair stand out like a halo of gold and the outfit had changed as well. When had Ed found time to go shopping? Whatever the answer, Mustang got the image of wings on the small alchemist's back with that outfit. Edward could definitely pass as a beautiful angel. Ed turned feeling eyes on his back only to find Mustang talking to Hawkeye.

"What time will the train leave?"

"5 a.m., sir. We're trying to be as discreet as possible. They want to keep it away from the media but information keeps leaking through since there is no one manning the Intelligence department. The Taboo Alchemist will meet us. Also, the Taboo Alchemist has some knowledge on this alchemy they've been using to commit the crimes and-"

Ed slammed his hand on the desk catching both of their attentions. Hawkeye looked down at the paper beneath Ed's hand. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALCHEMY?"

Hawkeye sighed and looked at Mustang questioningly. He nodded closing his eye. "Edward this isn't the first time this has happened…I'll show you, come with me."

Ed looked back at Mustang before following Hawkeye out of the door. He noted how she seemed reluctant to take him from the office and wondered what had gone on in Aquoroya.

Edward did not make a move to communicate with Mustang during the drive back to his house. The sun had settled behind the horizon casting only faint rays into the skies creating twilight. People were going home and the streets were clearing out save for a few diners and restaurants. He noticed Roy seemed more alert than during the day. He figured that they weren't allergic to the sun it just weakened them and dulled their senses. He wasn't too concerned about. There were other things bothering him. Ed's mind turned the condition of Clara over and over in his head. Sure, she was a thief but no one deserved to be driven insane by some asshole who decided to use his alchemy on people. The way she stared at him with those dead black eyes and how silent she became when he called her name. It was frightening. When he went into the room attempting to talk to her, Clara had gotten so close to him and touched his face so gently as if scared she would hurt him in some way. Her eyes became teary and she hugged him. For that one moment, Ed believed that she was herself. What she whispered next startled and confused him. She'd leant close to his face and he could feel her tears on his skin.

"Edward, please save me. Save me before they break my soul."

Right there she'd collapse and a half hour later she returned to being violent and insane. Now he was thinking who could've been so cruel as to hurt Clara that way. He swore to himself that he would find them and make the pay.

"Edward, are you hungry?"

Ed shook his head though his stomach betrayed him by growling loudly. That's right; he hadn't got to eat lunch with Justice like he had planned that day. He sighed in defeat and nodded his head. Roy chuckled and turned toward the nearest diner. At least eating made it easier to think.

Justice opened the door to his apartment tossing his coat over a chair. The one bedroom complex was a mess with papers and books. He turned to the door and pressed his hand to the tiny array on the handle using an alchemic lock. Having seen just about everything, he couldn't help but be slightly paranoid about everything. He sat in his chair and picked up a duplicate of the book he had given to Ed, opening it to his last marked page. He traced the illustration of an emerald stone labeled Florius.

"Florius: the stone of earth and creation nestled in the cradle of earth," he read to himself.

A knock on the door drew his attention from the book. "Come in."

With a sizzle from an alchemic charge, the door opened and a young woman close to his age came in. Her raven bangs hung in her face and her amber eyes fell on Justice. The girl's wrists were in circled byeight beautiful bracelets that made a soft clinking sound when she moved Justice looked at her over his shoulder noting her paleness getting worse. He remembered when her skin was golden like honey and she smiled. The young woman before him was thin with a pretty rounded face like a child. She wore a simple navy pleated skirt that touched mid thigh and plain white button up shirt that nearly covered the whole skirt. Her voice was low and quiet as she spoke as if she's trying her best to be heard but not noticed. The words were mouthed slowly around sound careful not to sound awkward but succeeding in doing so anyway. It was almost like a speech impediment.

"They're ready to go. The train is already here, big brother."

"I know. I'm coming. I'm close, Shauda. I'll cure you this time and there won't be anything to worry about."

"I'm glad, big brother."

"You should be resting, girl."

"I know; I just wanted to ask you something."

Justice turned to face her. "What is it?"

Her eyes fell to the floor. "I…I wanted to know…when I'm better can I have a family, big brother?"

Justice blinked at her not sure how to answer. Her eyes fell to the floor when she noticed a sadness creeping slowly into Justice's eyes. She hadn't meant for him to react that way. She turned away from him and walked toward the door. "Never mind, big brother. Forget I said anything!" she muttered softly. Stopping she coughed and gagged falling on the floor. Justice rose and ran to her side picking her up from the floor. He sighed woefully at the blood trailing on the side of her mouth. He picked her up and laid her in bed carefully.

"I told you to rest, Shauda. You've been out again and the sickness is getting worse. Stay in bed until we're ready to leave."

"Yes, brother."

"Don't worry, I'll give you a real life even if it kills me," he whispered with a smile. "I won't let anyone take you away from me, girl."

Shauda nodded and turned on her side as the cover was pulled up to her shoulders. Justice petted her hair before going to finish packing. Shauda did not sleep like normal people. When she slept it was akin to being a corpse. She'd grow cold and not awake for hours. However, she rarely did so. Everyone looked down on her and thought she was just crazy or disturbed. Justice knew what was truly wrong with her. She was autistic and she had an unidentified illness that caused her breathing problems when ever she was over excited along with the disorder. He'd found her when she was only nine years old wondering around the camps of the Ishbalan refugees. No one wanted her because they were too worried about their own problems. He was all alone and he had no one until she tripped in front of him and began to have a nervous break down. She was so scared and alone just like him. He'd raised her and taught her to speak properly and soon he found out she had a natural talent for alchemy but it was forbidden. So they kept their studies a secret until the military became interested in his talents after an accident that had nearly cost Shauda her life and had left her afflicted with her illness. Now they lived here in Central and she was slowly learning to be like "normal" people even though her speech was still slow and careful. Justice swore to her and himself that he would find a cure even if it killed him. He loved her and she was the only family he had. She was the only one who looked at him that way; nonjudgmental, and affectionate. The way Ed looked at him when he first asked to have dinner with the boy. When he looked at her eyes he couldn't help but wonder how Ed was doing at the moment. He was starting to become attached and he really didn't need that. Not when he was this far and so close. He gazed at the cover of the book he had been reading and narrowed his eyes at the title. He tossed the book into his bag whispering "No more. After this, no more."

The book cover read, Cruel Angel Thesis: Omni Alchemy of the Ancients.

Alphonse sat motionless in a chair with his knees drawn up. His brother's red coat was draped over him offering a bit of warmth to the chill he had. His mind replayed images of the night before and he held his head in pain. He'd awakened that morning hoping it had all been an elaborate dream that his mind had made up in sleep. Instead he found himself in a strange bed and that Rose was being held in a cell under close watch. He'd not eaten since awakening and his stomach cramped from lack of nutrients. He may have been made into a homunculus but his brother had done a good job at bringing him as close to humanity as possible. He had moved from the bed to a chair beside it and tried to will away the images in his head. However, what made it better was when he thought of the woman from that night. That name she had called him echoed in his head. What did Asterius mean? He could still feel the pressure on his lips from her kiss making him softly touch them in remembrance. The way she'd touched his face and kissed him with such guilty love; it was so much like his brother's touch. Who was she…?

"Shauda…"

"What'd you say?"

Al looked up at the owner of the voice finding Second Lieutenant Yuko, standing in front of him with two cups of hot coffee in his hands. Alphonse shook his brunette head. Yuko handed him a cup and not feeling any argument urge Al took it. He was grateful to finally have something in his stomach and whispered a thank you. The Lieutenant sat backwards in a chair in front of him. He stared at the younger boy as he sipped from the porcelain cup and blinked how strangely beautiful this boy looked. He looked just like Edward Elric who was equally beautiful and the talk of the military bars. Yuko liked to look at Edward around headquarters but Al made him give more than just an attracted glance. He averted his eyes when Al felt his staring and looked at him.

"So you're Alphonse Elric, right. The Fullmetal's little brother. I used to see Edward all the time around the library but I never met him. You look just a like, it's amazing."

Alphonse blinked. No one ever told him he looked like Ed. Most of the time, it was said that they were as different as night and day. Al sighed and looked down at the wooden floor his mind trailing off to his brother. How had Ed been doing? Was he sleeping enough? Was he getting over their two months of hell? Yuko tilted his head to the side. "Um, I just got a call from central a little while ago. Major General Mustang will be here day after tomorrow. He's bringing your brother with him."

Al's head snapped up in attention and his mouth curved into a soft smile. "My brother's really coming here!"

Yuko's crystal blue eyes brightened. "So you can talk! Yeah, but you'll have to stay with me for your protection. I'll look after you until they get here."

Al nodded feeling much better and suddenly very, very hungry. "Um, can I get something to eat?"

Yuko smiled. "Sure, why not."

That night Alphonse rested his head on a hotel bed safely away from the temple. He held his ears still able to hear the screams of people who tried to run from the shadows. Yet somehow those screams were quieted each time Shauda's kiss replayed before his eyes. He there was another feeling of warmth behind it. He placed it as his mother's embrace; the way she touched his face when he hurt himself. He couldn't help but feel the certain warmness in his heart whenever he thought of his mother and brother. Why did she invoke the same feelings? Al sat up disturbing Yuko from his uncomfortable sleep in the chair. He gazed at Alphonse in the moonlight with blurred sleepy eyes. They soon widened when he saw that the fifteen year old was indeed glowing. The light seemed to be brightest at his neck. A breeze blew the shoulder length hair from the nape of his neck revealing the glowing serpent cross.

"Alphonse?" Yuko whispered.

Al turned to face him with half lidded eyes. "Something's coming."

Before Yuko could question it an explosion was heard outside and his hand was at his gun. Al stood and went slowly to the window ignoring the Lieutenant's orders to stay in bed. Al opened the shutters gazing out at the Liore ablaze with fire. He looked down at Shauda who stood with a soft smile on her face. Their eyes met with a slight tilt of the head on Al's part. Behind her five other cloaked shadows appeared. They stood behind her with arms crossed though she blatantly ignored their presence.

"When you're ready, come for me," she said in an echoing tone.

Al leaned out the window in a trance his hands slowly sliding from the sill. Shauda reached out her hand to him in offering. "Are you ready…Asterius?"

Yuko grabbed Alphonse by the back of his shirt and tugged him away from Shauda's outstretched hand. He shot at her missing only by narrow inches as she dodged each bullet. Her serene expression turned to dark rage and as she crouched to jump. The chain of one of her shackles was tugged and she was violently pulled to the ground again. One the cloaked figures held her chain in his grip and yanked her away from the hotel toward him.

"That's enough; you'll disobey no more today. The master won't be pleased with you."

Alphonse watched her, feeling this abrupt sadness wash over him. He looked into her eyes as the others sunk into transmutation circles of their own. The one with the chain pulled along with him and an array surrounded her. Her eyes showed so many dark emotions that he could barely register them all. Anger, Fear, Sadness, Pain…Loneliness. She began to sink with her shackled arms going first like she was being pulled against her will. Her eyes spoke to him. "You will come for me…when you're ready."

Al nodded and stared blankly at the ground below long after she had gone. "She's in pain," he whispered faintly.

Yuko looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about?"

Al looked at him and shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get myself in trouble there."

"Don't worry about. I wanted to know what you meant about her being in pain. Do you know her?"

"No…and yes. I don't know; I feel like I do but then I draw a blank."

"Then how do you know she's in pain?"

"Because that look in her eyes…it's the same as my brother. That's how I know…"

Ed tossed and turned as deep seeded memories piled up again over spilling into his conscious. He sat up straight in fright once he felt the teeth at his neck for the fifth time that evening. He sat there staring into the darkness of the room and trying to calm down from his current state. He held his head with his cold metal hand cooling the heat on his forehead. Sometimes he appreciated his prosthetic limbs. Opting to go for a walk to clear his mind, Ed slipped out of bed and dressed. Looking around the window he noted that the general was not there. He assumed that the man must've been hungry though he seemed to be staying out longer than he when he started. Closing the door he locked it with a spare key he found in Mustang's bedroom so that it would look like he was still there. The night air felt good against his skin and chased the away the smell of his own blood from his senses.

"The Spirit has left the house."

"Yes, he goes to the Flame even though he does not realize it."

"How about…we move things along? Have a little fun, hmm?"

"Why not."

Ed breathed in deep as he walked calming his nausea and easing his head. This was one of the reasons he liked Central, night time was always empty in the suburban neighborhood. Making his way toward the down town area of the city, he heard something in an alley that sounded a lot like laughter through the quiet of the night. Curiosity always overruling common sense, he allowed his feet to creep toward the entrance of the alley. Though his vision wasn't very adequate he could hear very well in the silence. He heard the soft laughter of someone who sounded around his age and male while another voice, deep in tone, whispering to the other. The familiarity of the voice shocked him as he found it to be none other than Mustang and, from the sound of him; he was in his hunting mood. That was the sound Ed memorized from all the times the general had sent him on half-assed missions that usually puts him in one of his infamous life or death situations. Ed spotted two figures in the shadow of the moonlight and squint his eyes to focus on them better. Except this time, the sound was much more alluring and deeply seeded with underlying planning; more so than usual. It registered vaguely that the general's companion was a short blonde who leaned casually against the brick wall of the alley. His smile was flirting and sensually feigning a childish innocence as he pulled Mustang's face closer to his. Ed knew he should've left the minute he felt his face heat but his feet wouldn't move and his eyes wouldn't turn away. Mustang leaned down nibbling the boy's earlobe and the boy leaned his head to the side, eyes closing in pleasure. His hands began to wonder into the man's shirt dragging nails over the general's skin. The man smirked against the boy's cheek and slowly his mouth moved toward his neck in soft kisses the seemed to unstring the blonde boy's nerves. Ed felt his own breath hitch when he saw Mustangs fangs extend and sink into the pale skin beneath them. He watched Roy drink away the teen's life captivated by how the boy seemed to enjoy it. Strangely enough, Ed could feel the soft caresses they passed between each other as if he were in that boy's place. He even moaned softly when Roy's hand slid under the waistband of the blonde's pants.

His heartbeat increased when he realized that the general had frozen. He had been heard and he wanted to run very badly out of fear more thanembarassment but once again his body betrayed him. Mustang'spale blue eye fell on him filled with the bloodlust that had taken over his mind. The way that one eye looked at him made him feel exposed, naked even. He didn't even want to know what it would be like to have both on him. That look electrified his skin in a way that he never thought possible. It was the same way his body reacted when Al touched him. His face burned, not feeling the fear at all even when Mustang allowed the boy to drop to the ground unconscious and met his eyes fully.

Roy couldn't believe how horrible his luck was and yet this was the best thing that could happen. All he did was leave to feed and suddenly he'd come face to face with the cause of his lust. He slowly walked toward Ed who stood stock still before him. The boy's scent was all around him drugging him to the highest degree, slight fear mixed with curiosity, adrenaline, confusion, lust and something he couldn't name. He had always wanted Ed to look like that and tohave those fiery golden eyes on him setting his body a blaze with want and need. Now he had it and he couldn't even decide whether to approach the boy or let him go. Something held him there; something about this situation that was wrong no matter how perfect it seemed.

_Go ahead…Touch him…_

Roy flinched at the small voice in the back his mind. It urged him to go to the boy. He wanted to touch him so badly but he stayed put not wanting to do this. This wasn't the time. This was short lived as Ed slowly walked toward him with eyes filled with cold fire that was not his own. Ed's hands found their way to the front of his coat pulling him closer. His face was shadowed by his golden bangs. Roy wrapped his arms around the boy taking in the warmth feeling his fangs itch with hunger. He nuzzled the white fabric of the trench away from the scars of their previous encounter and licked the lacerations earning a shiver from his captive. His blood ran burning hot like the flames of his alchemic bursts when he felt the blonde lean into him. Ed looked up at him lifting himself slightly higher on his toes to brush his lips against Roy's. Roy kissed the boy fully and slid his tongue between willingly opened soft lips that tasted nearly as sweet as the blood that ran beneath the sun kissed skin.

_ Taste him…Take his breath away…_

He could smell the scent of arousal from Ed making him want to take the young alchemist right there in the alleyway whether he resisted or not. Roy pulled away allowing Ed to breath and the blonde looked up at him eyes aglow with desire. The way Ed tilted his head to the side inviting him to his neck made fangs ache to the point that he bit into his lip for restraint. Ed pressed his flesh hand against the base of the general's skull pushing his mouth closer to the wound. Ed gasped and arched violently against Roy when he felt the needle sharp fangs pierce the wounds on his neck.

Ed didn't know what was happening to him. It was as if someone else was allowing this and he couldn't do anything but watch. His mind wanted so much to get away and he truly was scared but the fear was held at bay by how good it felt to be held that way. It was like his brother but so different and it felt so good that it should've been a sin. This was a sin wasn't it? This was wrong and he was freaked out of his mind but the way those hands slid under his trench to his back and the pull of the man's mouth on his neck made him feel drunken and confused. He didn't will for this to happen…but he wanted it no matter how much his mind told him otherwise. Every memory of the constant rapes was driven away with each caress and circle drawn on his back by Roy's fingers. Wrong. This was just wrong. He felt Roy pull away from his neck and he blood trickle down his chest. He leaned weakly against the man. So dizzy. So tired. Ed's eyelashes droop nearly closing. Too much blood.

_ Take him…Rubius…_

"Mustang! Stop!"

Roy turned angry crimson eyes to the owner of the voice. Ed's eyes opened halfway as well barely focusing. _Justice…_

Justice stood with a blue steel pistol pointed at the vampire and a satchel slung over his shoulder. Behind him, a girl cowered in fear peeking out at the scene and doing her best not to be noticed. Roy's visible eye was filled to the brim with red and his expression was primal and possessive as his hold on Ed's waist tightened. Justice slowly approached him cocking the pistol.

"This pistol is filled with bullets each made from alchemically charged silver. It won't kill you but it'll hurt like hell. Major General, sir, if you are still in there let Fullmetal go. He's lost a lot of blood and he'll die if that wound isn't taken care of."

Roy growled at Justice and lifted his hand in the position to snap. Justice's eyes widened and he shoved Shauda away from him clapping his hands together. Ed's eyes widened at the motion. Just as Roy snapped a shield blocked the flames from him and Shauda. The shield cracked and the force shoved Justice backwards. Shauda went to Justice's side and helped him up. He hurriedly fell onto Shauda knocking them both out the way as the flame roared past them. He blinked in disbelief at the melted asphalt. He realized Roy's flame was white, one of the hottest flames anyone could ever hope to produce from alchemy. _Shit, the intake of Ed's blood must've amplified his alchemic power. I've got to take him down now! _

Justice took quick aim and shot at the general who snapped. Bullet never reached him as it melted in mid air. Roy smirked and lifted his hand to snap a final time but was stopped by two hands. The first was on his wrist preventing him from snapping. The other was on the actual hand holding it tight. Shauda looked up at Roy with dulled amber eyes that reminded him of the younger Elric. Ed gazed at Roy as well shaking his head. An alchemic charge surged in Roy's arm and he felt the euphoric high drain away from him. The charge came from the girl who dropped to her knees and coughed up an unusual amount of blood for any normal person. His head cleared and he looked down at her as she threw up. Justice ran to her side helping her but keeping Roy and gunpoint. Roy shook his head a couple of times before realizing that there was a very heavy dead wait against him. He got a better grip on the unconscious Ed to keep him from falling. Justice picked up Shauda in his arms and glared at Roy who lifted Ed off his feet.

"Do you have any idea, _any_ idea what would've happened if I hadn't found you just now? You would've corrupted him far too early."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Listen, my name is Justin the Slayer Alchemist. I'm in a foul mood so forgive me, sir."

"So you're the one Million in sending over with us. What the hell do you want?"

"Didn't you notice how your alchemic reactions were a helluva lot stronger than before?"

Roy remained silent. Justice continued. "Ed's part of the chain of people that are being attacked."

"You mean he's a target."

"He's _the _target and you nearly put him right where they wanted him!" he exclaimed. He sighed to calm himself. "Look, we can't talk about this out here. We need to get to the train station. As far as I'm concern you either go with what I say, or stay lost and useless! Come on."

Roy followed silently looking down at Ed to find him looking back. He could've sworn that he had been unconscious. Ed averted his eyes to the general's

A/N: longest chapter so far. Cool. It was long but aren't you glad you got to the end of it. Bad bad Roy, You just fuckin' up left and right. And what's up with the two Shauda's? Are they the same person or are they two completely different and unrelated people? Anyway, like I said at the top, if you want more and better writing give some good critiquing and reviews. So review or i'll never update again. Peace out.


	6. Chapter 6: Answers That Question

Konoko: YO, how's it going? I'm a little pissed because I have over six hundred hits and only 32 reviews. Come on people it's not hard. I have people who have me on alert and haven't even reviewed. I ain't playin' people, I'm crazy as hell, I'll burn DOOOWN. If I don't get no reviews don't nobody get no reviews! Just kidding, but I will find you people and ask you why you haven't review while holding you at gunpoint!

Disclaimer: BITE ME!

Cruel Angel

Chapter Six: Brief Reprieve (Answers That Question)

"Ed…"

Ed's eyes opened to the slightly rocking ceiling and a pair of crimson eyes over him. The room was dark and empty with the only light being the moon pouring through the windows as the landscape passed at an alarming speed. Ed's head pounded and his eyes couldn't focus well. He didn't even remember falling asleep again. He moved to touch the soreness at his neck as the memory of the events of the morning played back. It was a surprise to him that he wasn't the least bit afraid. How long had he been out and where was Mustang? He had a few choice ways to communicate how pissed off he was at moment. He tried to sit up but was stopped by his Ishbalan friend. He slowly pushed back down on the boy making him lay down. The Ishbalan smiled gently.

"You shouldn't move yet. You lost a lot of blood and we had to transfuse more of it into you. It was a bit difficult seeing as how your blood is so unique. But you'll be okay."

"Where's Mustang?" Ed mouthed angrily.

"Don't worry about him right now."

"Why!"

"Because he's about to have a hard time as much as it is and I'm not defending him, but I'm just letting you know; what happened tonight was not his fault. There other things happening right now and he just got caught up in it. So keep your anger to yourself for now, okay, Ed?"

Ed started him with confusion but assented to his request and relaxed against the pillow. However, even he knew that the Fullmetal was not satisfied and what what he said didn't quell an ounce of the anger behind those golden eyes. He needed to take his mind off it. A thinking Fullmetal was a dangerous and unpredictable Fullmetal. Justice smiled and brushed the blond bangs from ed's face gently watching ed's eyes fall halfway shut. Justice leaned down and placed a light butterfly kiss on the younger boy's lips feeling the softness he'd dreamt of from the first time he'd laid eyes on the young alchemist. The blond felt a light shudder run through him at the small and almost insignificant contact. His skin was lit with small electric buzzes that he had never felt before. Ed looked up at him in surprise with a straight blush across his face. Justice smirked.

"That's how a real alchemist gives a goodnight kiss. If you're silent, I'll give you a _real_ kiss. I promise it'll take your breath away better than anyone ever could."

With that he left a flabbergasted Ed closing the door to the car. With a shuddering sigh, Ed lay back down on the bench seat that had been comfortably transmuted into bed so that he could rest. He pulled the pillow beneath his head feeling a sudden rush of butterflies in his stomach. He'd heard of this hot rush of feeling before and had felt it once and a while with Al but never so strongly. What was Justice doing to him?

Roy sat in the company of the girl Shauda who sat sketching at a small book peeking above it at him. Her amber eyes peered at him and moved the pencil accordingly. She then smiled shyly at him with pink dusting her round cheeks and turned the book toward him so that she could see the likeness she had drawn of him. Roy gazed at the image seeing a sketch of him looking off into the distance and cradling Ed in his arms whose eyes were closed to the world and head resting against Roy's chest. It seemed so real that he came close to hoping they would breathe. She gave an anticipating stare that showed she was waiting nervously for his approval. There was something childlike in her demeanor like she hadn't realized that her body was nearly full grown. He smiled at her and nodded his appreciation.

"It's good, you're very talented, miss…?"

She smiled brightly and made up her mind to speak to him. She spoke in a soft melodic voice sounding each word carefully so as to not mess up. "I'm Shauda. What's your name, Mr. Eye Patch?"

"My name is Roy Mustang."

"I don't have a last name but brother promised he'd give me one when the time came."

"Well, he's a lucky brother to have such a talented and pretty sister."

To his amusement she turned crimson hiding her face behind her hands in shy embarrassment and whispering a soft thank you. The car door slid open and Justice stepped in running a stressed hand through his hair. Shauda looked up at him and moved over to allow him sitting room. Mustang couldn't help but smile at how childish and innocent she was. This was the type of blood he never found appealing; taking innocent life was something he never did. It haunted him ever since he indulged in it his first night as a vampire when he fed from Michelle. He never wanted to take another innocent ever again. The boys he begun taking interest end were all male prostitutes and pimps with more blood on their hands than should've ever been. The dirty blood was sweet to the senses and it curved the craving for Ed's addictive blood. Though he would never be able to say that innocent blood wasn't the most potent, adrenaline filled and sweetest nectar the earth had to offer. Justice petted her head as her breathing all but stopped. He then looked at the Major General with a serious expression.

"So let's get down to business. Your Brigadier General will be on the next train with the rest of what's left of Intel. I choose to travel alone because of who I am and the subject of my research is completely restricted to anyone other than me, General Million, and the Fuhrer."

"How in the hell did you become a State Alchemist? You're an Ishabalan; if anything they should've shot you sight. At least that's what they normally would do."

"They would've but I have much to offer to people like Marshall, information. I'm going to prove to you how valuable and outcast Ishbalan is to the brass." He pulled a copy of the Cruel Angel Thesis and passed it to Mustang. "Now listen because I'm only explaining this once. As an alchemist yourself you should catch on quickly. You know of all the trouble one goes through to create a philosopher stone and the high costs of receiving one?"

Mustang nodded. "The thousands of souls that have to be gathered in order to forge it…"

"Yes, but Ed and Al went around everything that justified a stone and brought Al's body back from the Gate. They were the first to succeed in bringing the Gate to earth and actually achieving what was desired without cost. Therefore they have broken the limitations set down before anyone could even spell alchemy. They have crystallized their alchemic powers and souls into two stones. Inside that book contains the original element of true alchemy. You see equivalent exchange was set down by the very first alchemists, or the Omni Alchemists, in order to set boundaries on alchemy; boundaries to keep anyone who gained the knowledge from creating chaos and seeking an apocalyptic stone that is even greater than our meager philosopher's stone."

"The first alchemists actually wrote down their findings and set rules in a book? Why was there no record of it and how did you get it?"

"Not in so many words," Justice replied shaking his head. "See there were only two copies, both hand written, and I was given the first by a man named Hoenhiem Elric. He was kind to me and somehow saw the potential I had to become a great alchemist from the moment he laid eyes on me. He taught me the basics and well…I took it from there. That's how I was able to learn all that I know and then some. That's what led me to Edward so easily. The second I found when I met an old woman who was not elderly by choice. Her name was Dante; the most kind, caring, and greatest alchemist I could ever wish to know. She gave me the book saying that she had been expecting me. I learned more from her and the depth of her knowledge never ceased to amaze me. I had to leave her though…war was coming to Ishbal and I had someone there I needed to protect. Needless to say, I failed. When I was able to venture from the containment camps I went to see her to get help from Shauda…that's when her former student told me that she was dead. Killed by the very homunculus that she created, I couldn't believe it because I had met Greed before…but I suppose the evidence was all there." Justice smile turned grim. "Imagine…being only a few steps behind Edward. If I would've known then I would've saved her but I guess Ishabala had other plans. Still, Dante was my last hope for helping my sister."

"What happened then?" Roy asked curiously.

"Well, if I didn't do something my sister was going to die. Her former student, Izumi Curtis took us end and taught me how to brew a simple medicine that would clear her lungs for months as long as she didn't get excited and it was taken once a week. Though, I admit the woman was a bit frightening, she was the kindest person I had met in years. She said that I resembled someone who she had lost a long time ago. She was the only motherly figure I had had in my entire life. She took care of my sister and me until we were strong and able to take care of ourselves. She praised us because of how quickly we caught on and bested her in alchemy. During our short time with her, she told me about Edward and Alphonse and I became fascinated by them. After all that happened to them imagine having the iron will at sixteen and fifteen to continue on. But she'd just tell me that I was just like them. Then she described them to me and I remembered immediately that I had seen them both before. I was in a camp that was constantly attacked by mercenaries when I first met them. You know of that don't you?"

Roy nodded quickly wanting to hear the rest. He continued. "I was there. They, along with Scar, saved our lives. I never forgot his face that was when I began to learn more from Izumi that she hadn't even taught Ed. Izumi wasn't stupid nor was she blind. She knew that equivalent trade was set down for a reason. Taking more than what you could give was an upset to the natural balance of things, true enough. But, she told me that she made the mistake of making her students believe that equivalency was the law of the world. Everything had to fair the world to function. In truth, it never was. This alchemic principle was set for the use of alchemy only to prevent chaos in the balance of things both natural and science by one who sought far too much. I was taught by all three alchemists that equivalency was a fail safe. But now that Ed and Al knew that equivalence could not be a factor in what they wanted we all knew what would happen. We just had to wait for it. So, I took off and studied every book that Dante possessed and a few of her own notes left to me. Then I went back to Ishbal seeking the old man who knew about the Grand Arcanum and I searched ruins of past temples for traces of the answers I sought. I found so much more than any alchemist should ever know. That's when I applied for a state alchemy license and bribed the new Fuhrer into allowing me in. There were secret areas of the first branch that only I knew about. I had to see them. After everything I've absorbed, I finally understood this book and I tracked down everything that had to do with this book as quickly as possible. One answer was left and eluded me still even with all the knowledge I gained…no one ever made a real and true dyed-in-the-wool philosopher's stone. Not even Scar…"

"Why does that bother you?"

"Because though my research I was able to find out a fact that was truly the truth behind all truth; the philosopher's stone isn't a stone at all. It isn't any mineral or substance that could possibly be remotely related to a stone, it never was meant to be. Through misunderstanding we have translated the horrors of the philosopher's stone instead of the blessings. You see in translating everything the phrase that describes the stone as a 'great soul within a bloody shell' which has commonly mistranslated as 'great many souls within a shell of blood' hinting that the color is blood red and it takes numerous souls to make it. So, my question was what is it and how will I know when I see it?"

"What else could it possibly be?"

"I just recently discovered a breakthrough but…I rather not discuss it yet. Just know that it is an essential key to what our enemy's are after. Now back to what I was suppose to explain before I got side tracked. Take a look at the title page; there are nine signatures there."

Roy opened the worn book as he was told and sure enough he found a set of hand-scribed names. Justice turned the page for him to the hand drawn images of the same number of people. The first was a beautiful woman with blond hair and oceanic eyes reminding him of Clara. She smiled in soft mischevious way. Her name was scrawled beneath her image.

"Aquarius?"

"She's the last descendant of the omni alchemist Aquarius. She was the woman who used her water alchemy to raise Aquaroya from the depths of the lake and created a wonderful city surrounded by water. She was the first Star of Aquaroya but like all the omni alchemists her name and bloodline have been lost in history until Clara was born. Aquaroya was lain to waste because the people who over threw Aquarius. The reason she was chosen first was because Aquarius was the first to fall. The next was the woman we are now going to retrieve." He turned the page to a dark skinned woman with rose colored bangs and a kind face. "Solaris, the kindest and most gentle of them all. She specialized in variations of the alchemic affect in solar light. Basically her alchemy centered on the harnessing of solar light. She was born in Liore though it was much different back then. She was called the Mother of Liore because she brought peace, hope and love to the people through the teachings of god and the miracles of alchemy. Her bloodline was also lost because greed curupted the people. Once again, a case in wanting too much. She was over thrown and killed."

"They all fall because of the lack of equivalency?"

Justice nodded. "Correct. Each one was killed because the people wanted more from alchemy than they could give back and the final alchemist to die set down the laws of alchemy to prevent the repeat of all these events. All the of them are named for the original elements of life: Solaris, Asterius, Lunarius, Florius, Rubius, Stratairius, Aquarius, Shaudaris, and…" he flipped the pages of the book to a young man whose hair was like the sun and his piecing falcon like eyes seemed to hold life itself. The strands of sun hung around his shoulders as he stared out from the page with his golden orbs free of judgement yet full to the brim with sheer will. "…Spiritus. I'm sure you can name all the elements of Alchemy?"

"Ofcourse, it's basic alchemy. Sun, Moon, Earth, Fire, Wind Water, Shadow, and Spirit; what is this all for?"

"To create a stone," he responded calmly.

"A stone? The philosopher's-"

"No, like I said. It's dull in comparison. In our case it's a mere ingredient. I'm not sure how they plan to get it considering they need a pure one; one made by life not death. No the stone they wish to make is called in theory the Cruel Angel stone. It's considered the Final Element because it spawns all other element. Basically it is the very stone of creation. With one of those in possession the world can be made into a paradise or pure hell. The ones who want it are the shadows of the Omni Alchemist and are called those sired because they are sired by the hate and vengeance of the very people who murdered them. I'm sure revenge is the issue here."

"Then we should do something before we run out of options. You know the names of all the descendants?"

"Of course, I've been studying Omni Alchemy for the whole of my life and ever since Dublith, I began to research and locate all the descendants."

Mustang narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You knew all this. How? How am I to know that you aren't one of them?"

"Because Stratairius was an Ishbalan before Ishbal renounced their alchemic heritage as heresy. I'm an exile living among them though they would never know it. Stratairius…is _my_ ancestor. I'm the Stratairius stone. And my sweet Shauda is the Shaudaris…"

Mustang looked down at the sleeping girl. That couldn't be. A girl like her is involved in something like this? Then again, he had felt something enormous inside the girl that made him give pause every time he looked into her eyes. Justice sighed and uncovered his right arm that showed a small array with eight sybols circling a ninth. Two of the symbols, Mustang recognized as the alchemic symbols for Sun and Water, turned slowly like it had been activated by alchemy. He lifted Shauda's arm and showed the same array. "I don't have much time. I come next after earth."

Accepting this and feeling slightly guilty for asking, Mustang decided not to push that issue. "Who'd left."

"Clara and Rose are already taken. Russell and Fletcher Trigham, myself, Izumi Curtis, Shauda, Alphonse Elric, Edward Elric, and…Roy Mustang. You are one of us as well. You are one of the last to be taken so you have to help Ed in anyway you can. That's why I feel I should tell you now. At the rate they are moving they'll hit Zenotyne in less than a week."

"Does the Fuhrer know of this?"

'Yes, he wants me to alleviate the stress on him so he charged me with taking care of this. Besides, if anyone made that stone they would have power greater than the militaries and we all know that Marshall would visit hell before he allowed anyone else to gain the upper hand on him. Plus, he wants me to see if it is possible to harness the power that they are after. He's that pathetic. Though, I give it to him that he knows a good vantage point when he sees one otherwise you and I would not be sitting here discussing such treacherous forms of alchemy."

"I have to agree on that one. So, why do we all look like exactly the same."

"Atavism affected by the number of times the gate has appeared on earth. Your ancestor is the right hand man of their leader. The leader is much smarter than we could ever hope to be but we have awareness and knowledge on our side. If we play our card right, we'll be able to save all those on that list."

"And what happens if we're too late?"

"…then those who have been taken by them will die."

Ed gasped softly. He shook his head and covered forehead with his hand. Listening to this conversation outside door of the compartment, he had found himself between a rock and a hard place. Once again the answers weren't there. This was so much like the past five years yet now everyone was at stake this time and all of them were people close to him. Ed knew what it meant. Back researching and learning. If they could figure out what the stone was that they wanted to create. If he knew then he could figure out a way stop them on his own. There are answers to everything, he just need to know the right questions. He wouldn't let this get better of him. If Justice knew something then he could learn and carry the weight on his own. He glanced at his automail arm. Yes, he could carry that weight…he always had.

The train whistle sounded scaring Al from his daydream as the early morning train pulled in. He sat on a bench along side the lieutenant in the warm morning of the town closest to Liore. He lifted his eyes hopefully watching some people unload things from train. He was about to put his head down when he saw a blonde haired figure from the train onto the platform. Long braided hair wiped in twilight wind along with the white fabric his trench, which, held the serpent cross upon the frabic. Al rose, still wearing the red one and ran to the stranger enveloping him from behind and nearly knocking them both to the ground.

"Ed!"

Ed gasped as the hair supply was cut from his lungs. He steady himself and pried Al off looking him over frantically. Al shook his head.

"I'm fine, really I wam! Oh…" Al's amber eyes fell on his brother's neck. "What happened to you?"

Ed blinked and rubbed his neck looking away. Smiling in a carefree way he shrugged and took his baby brother's hand placing it against his mouth not caring who saw. Against it he mouthed "Don't worry about it." Al only cast his eyes at the Major General and nodded slowly. So that was what the pain was he had felt this morning, but if Ed said it wasn't important then it wasn't important. For now. Ed hugged him again and looked over at the blue-eyed compainion who stood watching with curiosity. He gave Al a questioning glance in which he was repaid with a smile.

"That's Second Lieutenant Yuko, he's been taking care of me since I've been in Liore."

Ed nodded in understanding. Al held him at arms length and looked him over admiring the new white coat and the skintight leather pants along with the turtleneck tank. The gold band around his automail leg marked it in a secret way that only those who knew him would know. He liked this knew Ed right down to the hoops in his ear. He was even more satisfied that the golden hair remained lengthy and beautiful making him want to run his fingers through it right now in front all the strangers. Deciding against it, he settled for the light brush of his brother's hair beneath his fingers as he embraced him once again. He loved the way his brother felt against him and even though it had only been such a short time he missed his brother as much as he had missed breathing when he was nothing more than a suit of armor. Ed smiled and looked over his own shoulder at the boy who stepped off the train. He turned to help a young girl onto the platform. This new boy, in Al's eyes, was very good looking and it was shock to find himself gazing into beautiful blood red eyes that shined with a kindness and power that he's never seen before. The Ishbalan smiled at the younger Elric making a slight blush form on his cheeks.

"Who's that?" he whispered.

Ed smiled and motioned for the Ishbalan to come over to him. The bronzed skinned alchemist stood by Ed and outstretched his hand to Alphonse with a greeting smile. "I'm Justice and you must be Alphonse. Ed speaks a lot about you and I see you're even better in person."

Al blushed and looked at Ed with an arched eyebrow. He received a small smile in response and Al knew everything was okay with this one. He smiled at Justice returning the welcoming expression. The girl behind him peeked at Alphonse with a shy rose color dusting her cheeks. Al blinked in surprise at her and Justice pushed the girl gently in front of him as she tried to shy away from Al hiding behind the raven bangs that cradled and framed her lovely little face. He was completely thrown off by her appearance. She held an uncanny resemblance to Shauda, the shadow woman whom had left her mark in his mouth. This girl was a complete duplicate of her save for her raven hair; it was too mundane in comparison to the dark plum colored hair her twin. Justice watched the measuring gaze as Al looked over his sister. His first thought was that Al had seen her. He'd seen the Shaudaris woman and there was no mistake in the look in his eyes that she had left her mark on him. This was going to be a long journey.

"This is Shauda, my sister."

Al looked up at him with an innocent look of incredulity. He couldn't tell what had baffled him more. "Shauda…your sister."

Justice nodded and hugged the girl tightly. "Yes, my sister."

"Hi…" she said softly.

Al smiled and waved at her. Mustang finally joined then and he and the younger Elric regarded each other in silence. Ed and Justice looked between them with confusion. Mustang knew what was coming, either a look of disgust or of rage; either one would be the least he deserved after breaking his word with Alphonse. He would accept it if the other asked for him to never come near Fullmetal ever again. Al approached him so that they were face to face even though there was a height difference. His amber eyes held quiet fire that Mustang took as rage considering it was paired with the seriousness of his face. What the younger brother did do, however, wasn't exactly what he expected. Al smiled brightly at the general.

"Thank you, for not breaking your word."

Mustang blinked at the beaming boy in complete shock and total bewilderment. Alphonse definitely was the more complex of the brothers. Ed himself was like a puzzle cube he was still trying to solve, five years and only two sides. It'd be another five years probably before he solved any other parts of them…

Ed looked upon Rose in the silence of the containment center with a vacant expression. The girl rocked back and forth holding her ears, trying to keep out the demons tormenting her. Her dress was torn from her fits and strand of her hair lay on the floor from constant pulling. She mumbled, whispered, and yelled occasionally but stayed in one place. The guards reported that she wasn't violent unless provoked. She had fought, screamed and bit when they brought her in but once human contact left her, she calmed. She sat in the darkest part of the room shying away from the light and pulling her feet away from the rays of electricity. Rose screamed for the lights to leave her alone. Ed shook his head hopelessly. Close to him he felt Al shiver at the sight of one of their good friends. This wasn't fair at all. Ed pulled away from the group who observed rose's behavior. He went to the door and moved to unlock it. The guards protested with the notion that they couldn't insure his safety if she became violent again. Ed ignored them and slowly opened the door; Justice's voice stopped him from entering.

"When you go in, call her like you did for Clara. Even though we can't hear you, she will."

Ed only shrugged at him. It was true he had called out Clara's name. It was strange whenever he thought of it. When he opened his mouth, _he_ heard his voice and apparently Clara did as well, but Hawkeye and the other soldiers who were there did not. For the life of him, he couldn't remember how he did that. Mentally shrugging, he entered the room cutting out the lights so that the only light in the room came from the open door spanning out of reach of the Liore woman. He slowly approached her with steady steps causing her to come from her hiding place and look at him with those empty black eyes. They were filled to the brim with tears but her face had softened in the dimness of the room. She seemed more peaceful since the light had left her. He kneeled down in front of her and tilted his head with a grim smile. She felt the skin of his face with both hands and ran her fingers over his cheeks as if she were mapping his face like a blinde woman. Her tears fell in heavy streams as her eyes met his and she quickly looked away as if his golden orbs of neutrality had burned her very core. She sobbed and fell against him clutching his jacket while her body shook with her crying. Ed held her close and heard himself whisper to her, "I'll save you…I promise." He didn't think he would be heard by anyone but he was sure she did hear him; he could tell by the way she held him tighter. To his surprise she had silently slipped into sleep and fell heavy against his body. Careful not to grasp her too tightly with his automail arm, he gently lifted her into the bed and covered her resting figure. This was best. As long as she had fallen asleep in his arms, the monsters would keep away from her. He smiled to himself at his old saying. He remember that from so long ago. He'd wrapped an arm around his brothers chubby little waist and forced him to lie down.

_"Don't be stupid. I'm scarier than any monster that could be in the closet! As long as you go to sleep while I'm holding you, they wouldn't even wanna come in and get you. They'd be too scared of me!"_

That had always been the quickest way to shut his little brother up so that he could get some rest. He'd never say but he missed being able to do that while Al was trapped in that armor.

Al smiled at his brother's thoughts. He remembered those nights as well and had missed them more than Ed could ever know. It was all right though, they had each other now, and they would both make sure the monsters didn't come for them or any of their friends. Al turned at the sound of his name finding himself looking at Mustang.

"Alphonse, I have a request for you."

"Oh? What?"

"You most likely won't want to do this, but would you consider achieving you State Alchemist certification?"

Somehow Al saw where this was headed and he couldn't decide whether he hated it or didn't care. "Why would you want me to do that?"

"Intelligence is short on people and I need someone who wil pay close detail to everything in order to see that the department functions properly."

"You want me to head Intel…wasn't that…" Al could tell that he need not finish that thought by the sudden flash of pain in the ex-colonel's good eye. Hughes…

"It would be just you," he continued his tone never changing. "It would be you and your brother. More things seem to get done properly when it's both working and not just Fullmetal. I was hoping you would complete the exam and become a proper state alchemist. That way, you would automatically receive the rank of major. It's up to you though. After all, your hotheaded brother isn't going to appreciate me offering a position in the military to you."

Al smiled warmly and tilted his head. "What are you after?"

"Huh?"

"Before I answer, I want to be sure about what you're after? You can't want to get the promotion for obtaining another prodigy. I can see it in the way your asking me; giving me a chance to back out freely while offering a chance to be part of something. Tell me what you're after and I'll give you my answer."

Mustang nodded, sometimes he swore Al reminded him of Hughes in the way he analyzed everything.

"Guess I don't have a choice…"

Ed came out of the room after ascertaining that Rose was sleeping deeply and closed the door leaning against it solemnly. Justice was in a chair waiting while Shauda sat drawing once again. Mustang and Al turned their attention to him when the lock clicked. He gave them a stoic face and stood straight up looking at Justice and speaking in his own way. Justice nodded relaying the message.

"He say that we need to do something and we need to do something now. First, we need to get to the Tringham brothers and get them to Central where we can watch them."

"They're in danger as well?" Al exclaimed.

Justice nodded and Ed mouthed to him. "Will keeping them from Russell and Fletcher slow them down?"

"Yes, it would slow them down if we guard them. They can't take the stones out of order."

"Is there a pattern in the order?" asked Mustang.

"Yes. It's in the order of the deaths of the Omni Alchemists. They died within the same year so naturally they would take revenge in the same line. As I said before, Mustang, we don't have a lot time.."

Ed looked back at the glass room where Rose lay silently in the dark. They had to make this right before something truly horrible happened in the mists of all this…

Chains clinked in the darkness of the blackened ruins of an Ishbalan temple as the prisoner of them tugged away in vain attempt to escape the pain of well deserved punishment. Shady plum locks lay against the floor as her attacker kicked her in the stomach. She cringed from the shock as she felt blood flow from her deep inside her onto the stone floor. She cried out as she was pulled by her hair onto her feet and cast in front of a looming figure.Her eyes remained on the stains of her blood on the floor not willing to show the fire of defiance in her eyes to him. The figure covered in black knelt down in his beautiful velvet black trench coat that spread out around him like a black pool and reached out to touch the plum colored hair letting it slide through his gloved fingers. His sun-kissed hair covered his face from her view as he gently touched her cheek in adoration.

"How many times must we go through this, Shaudaris?" he asked her softly.

She lifted her head. "I'm sorry…he just…"

The man's deep laughter that followed sent shivers in her spine. "Don't . I don't blame you. Everyone else here blames you but I do not because I like you we are all a prisoner of the emotions we left this world with. Don't think that you suffer alone. The only thing that keeps them," he gestured to the other cloaked figures. "from disobeying is the fear of me. But you…I'll never have you fear me. You've loved Asterius and I for too long to fear either of us. Stand."

Shaudaris stood to her feet with the help of his outstretched hand. Her shackles clinked and rattled as she straightened herself.

"Go to this Justice. Lead him to where he needs to be. They'll try to take both pieces of the earth stone away thinking it will help. It will only made only make things better for us. Stay to the plan and no more foul-ups. Do it the way I told you."

Shaudaris nodded and sunk into the floor through an array leaving the others in the dark room. A woman walked to the man's side, her white hood pulled down low. She tilted her head in his direction.

"She's compromised; she always has been, Spiritus."

"Don't think I don't realize it. Don't worry, as long as I have the key to her freedom she won't screw up. I promise you she'll come back like the loyal dog she is."

Shauda sat up and looked around curiously at her surroundings. She was in a small room and voiced bounced off the walls from a small table in the center where her brother along with his new friends sat. She smiled playfully and slid off the wooden bench making her ways towards them. They all had the funny book big brother always had open and she wondered what for. She remembered that she couldn't read well and big brother always rewrote the alchemy books in simple terms for her to study on her own. He had never rewritten the funny book for her. He said he could barely understand it. She knew he would never lie to her so that was true enough to satisfy her. She crept over to the table where little Blondie had his nose in the funny book. She peeked over his shoulder startling the color from his face. Justice and Blondie's brother laughed at him making her laugh as well. She liked best of all when Mister Eye Patch smiled as well. She smiled at him and gave him a hug in apology. She couldn't understand why he turned red when she did but he was nice and warm despite his weird skin on his arm.

Justice snickered at Ed's face as his sister nuzzled him. "She likes people who are warm."

"Then she'd love Al," he mouthed.

Justice looked at Al who blinked nervously and turned back to his book. "Um, no that's okay brother. She likes you more."

"Back to what were doing. The book pretty much explains itself. It talks about a door of paradise marked by the tree of life. That would be the Gate that every alchemist who's performed the Black Work has seen. They say this stone that they seek will be born from this door and bring a new paradise on earth called the Final eden or an apocalypse called the Black Eden. They need each element of life to pull in the energy needed to unlock the gate and call out this ultimate power from it. Each person who is a holder of the stone bares the mark on their right arm. You and Al don't have the mark because you don't have your original limbs."

Ed nodded silently to himself while Shauda pulled up a chair and made herself comfortable with her head on Ed's lap. Ed looked down at her in surprise and looked at Justice questioningly. Justice shrugged. "Just let her do it. She won't get in the way. Anyway, all in all we have all the information we need and no clue what to do about it."

Ed shook his head and pushed a sheet of paper toward them.. It held a list of questions. "We need to know what exactly is the ultimate power, what do they plan to do with it, and what is the fail safe."

"Brother's right, you can't have a perfect transmutation. There has to be flaws that can be exploited to either stop it when something goes wrong or ruin it completely. Think about it, what made them forbid human transmutation when they could transcend the laws of alchemy, as know it? What made them set boundaries when they could have had made this thing that was even more powerful than the philosopher's stone and took over everything? Something had to have stopped them from greeting that far until now. What changed for them to be allowed to do it now?"

Roy shrugged. "It's a good point but we don't have enough to go on here in Liore. Our best chance is to get the Tringhams and get back to Central to use the libraries there."

Ed agreed to this. Being back in Central meant more security, which meant they could work with much more ease and they could have books from the other HQs imported if needed. Besides, they needed to get a move on. The door opened drawing their attention to the lieutenant who walked in with coffee. Yuko glanced around the room and gave an amused smile.

"Jeez, the world doesn't have to stop for coffee, gentleman," he said setting mugs on the table.

Roy shook his head at him. "You found out when the next military train is pulling in?"

The blonde glanced at his watch. "Yes, sir. In about ten minutes. Brigadier General Hawkeye told me that Fuhrer Marshall slowed them down with questions about your whereabouts. She phoned me a minute ago and said they were prepared to leave for Zenotyne when you are."

"Roy arched his brow. "I didn't tell her about Zenotyne…"

"I did sir. I figured you'd be in a hurry. Permission to go with you, sir. With all do respect, I think I'll shoot myself if one more civilian glares at me."

"By all means, do it. I wouldn't mind having one less blond to worry about."

This cost him glares from Ed and Al as well as Yuko. He nodded. "Sure the more the merrier," he sighed. "But pulled your own weight!" he added quickly. Sure, Yuko was loyal, a good sharp shooter trained by Hawkeye herself, for god's sake he was about as reliable as Havoc on vacation in brothel. Then again, you gave him order and he followed it, even when it wasn't as discreetly as Roy would've wanted it. What was it with blondes?

He heard Justice sigh tiredly next to him. "We need more time then they're giving us. That's why we have to get to Zenotyne. It's all we can do to by time."

Ed sat quietly watching the way Justice seemed tired as the Ishbalan touched his forehead in sudden exhaustion. Al must've noticed it as well.

"It'd be best if we all got rest before we left so that we can be on our toes."

Yuko leaned against the wall. "Sure, rest so we can all walk on eggshells. That's fine with me."

Roy wasn't listening. His eye was on Shauda who seemed truly dead to the world and not in comical sense. The girl had paled and she was so still he couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. The slight rise in her chest told him she was but still, she didn't seem alive.

"Major General?"

Roy turned to Justice. "What?"

"Do you mind us getting some rest?"

"No, we all need it. Yuko let the Brigadier General know that she and the others are to rest as well. It's going to be a long night."

Ed stared up at the ceiling absentmindedly thinking about the night before. He could still feel the force of Mustang's mouth against his the way his fangs had slid across his neck. It was wrong but admittedly, he wasn't afraid this time. He touched his neck with a slight blush wondering what it would have been like if Justice hadn't stopped them. Closing his eyes he pictured the scene again, this time he was in control and they weren't in some dank alley in the middle of Central and he could voice all his emotions from Mustang's touch. They were at home, in the darkness and safety of the black silk sheets of Mustang's bedroom. He felt Mustang, no, Roy's mouth at his throat while his hands roamed over his entire frame. The nails of his flesh hand dug into the man's back leaving red trails against near-colorless skin his lover. He shuddered as he felt those needle sharp fangs slowly break through his skin in a painful yet pleasure-filled experience. He felt his body arch at the feeling as he felt his blood being sucked softly from the open wound. Roy's hips grinded against his own rubbing against the most sensitive part of his being and making moan out load.

A knock on the door brought Ed from his daze making him blink a couple of times before he realized he was in the exact position of his reverie. This was disappointing considering his arms were wrapped around air. Sighing and shaking away flustering image he went to the door and opened it to find Justice there. The Ishbalan smiled and let himself in knowing Ed didn't care. Ed shut the door and plopped back down on his bed with Justice joining him at his side. He noticed how Ed's cheeks were slightly flushed and his breath uneven. He smirked playfully.

"Did I interrupt something, Ed?"

Ed shook his head hoping he didn't noticed how flustering. Justice accepted this though knowing otherwise. "Well, Alphonse went to see if there was anything we might have missed in the temple and Lieutenant Yuko went to meet Hawkeye at the train station. Mustang has gone to his room to sleep away the sun's affects.

"He hasn't eaten?"

"No, he's still well-fed from the other night."

Ed looked away feeling ashamed for actually liking being fed upon by the Major General. Why was it different for him and no one else? Justice wrapped an arm around his shoulders pulling him close. Ed turned his golden gaze to near blood red eyes of his friend. Justice's smile always seemed so warm and knowing and , every time he looked at him, Ed felt calm and warm just like with Al. Still, behind those blood-colored jewels Ed could always see the weight of life upon him. No matter how much he wanted to ask, Ed couldn't bring himself to ask how he came to ability of alchemy with arrays. He couldn't stand to bring pain to his eyes like that which was there whenever Shauda coughed. His thoughts must have plain on his face cause Justice tilted his chin up.

"You stay with far too much on your mind for a teenager. When looking in your eyes, I swear I see the thoughts of an adult with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I don't like to see you look at me that way."

Ed smiled his cheeks warming again. "How do you want me to look at you?"

"They way you looked on the train when I kissed you for the first time. You've been quiet and a promise is a promise Ed."

Ed didn't have time to blink before Justice claimed his lips. His hand rested at the small of Ed's back tilting him back slightly. His tongue ran over soft rose-colored lips asking for admittance. Ed's lips parted beneath the soft probing feeling the soft muscle enter his mouth and explore the inside tenderly. Ed instinctually slid his arms around Justice's neck. He was hugged closer by the unexpected strength in Justice's arms. A hand ran up his spine making him shudder and back down to curl around the band that held his braid. A slight tug and the band was snapped while hishand unraveled the lengthy shower of gold loving the feel of the silk through his fingers. Ed purred against his mouth from the blissful feeling of fingertips running over his scalp. Justice pulled away from the young alchemist allowing panting breaths to enter and escape the boys body. The coner of his mouth quirked in a mischievous smirk as he begun kissing down Ed's jawline toward his neck. Ed lolled his head to the side shuddering and tensing at the feel of the other's kisses so gentle against his skin. He suddeny began to feel a lsight tingle like from befor eon the train. He knew in an instant what it was. It was the sting of alchemy without the procession of the three stages; it was only raw alchemic power and it was the most amzing turn out he ever thought could exist. He'd done it once or twice with Al in experimentation and the results had been stupendous for both of them. However, they had never went that far, so he wondered how far Justice was willing to take this. He shivered when the turtleneck was pushed aside being loose fitting material. Anxiousness clouded Ed's senses and he was barely able to keep still under these ministrations. Justice smirked against his skin and bit down lightly on the erogenous area where shoulder met neck, taking delight in hearing the sharp intake of breath and clawing at his back through his clothing. Even if he couldn't' hear Ed's sound's of pleasure, the feeling of the boy's squirming and clinging was enough to satisfy him. He slowly pushed Ed back against the headboard of the bed and his hands wandered beneath the shirt and ran hot fingertips over Ed's hardened abs up to the scars of his chest then down again to the waistband of his pants. Ed's head tilted back when he felt the sharp intake jolts of alchemy pleasurably charging into his skin and he swore in his mind when Justice's hand slid beneath Ed's waistband while the other supported his back. The hand rested on the warmth between his legs and slowly stroked the younger boy to full hardness. Ed's mouth fell open in a silent 'o' feeling someone being so gently with him there. Having been abused by Manning so much, he had forgotten what real pleasure felt like. Panting and flushed, Ed grasped at the cotton sheets in complete abandon beneath the ishbalan's touch and he prayed for the agony to end but to also last forever. The sudden force of the alchemic charge from Justice's hand sent him over the edge and his mouth fell into a silent scream with eyes wide open swearing he would see the gate again.

Panting and shaking, Ed came down from his high to see Justice sitting there petting his hair with a placid yet slightly tired expression and light tint to his skin. Ed watched him through hazy half-lidded eyes suddenly feeling extremely tired as Justiced reached out and brushed his cheek. He kissed him tenderly before rising. "A promise is a promise, Ed. That was a real kiss from me. Now rest. We have a long night."

Ed couldn't stop him due to the electrified numbness in his limbs. Instead he took the advice and fell into the most blissful and safe sleep he had felt in years. Just for that moment, everything was right in his world even if it had gone black in under a minute.

Konoko; Done. Think of that last part as a parting gift to make up for the boring explanation. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

I know I'm not suppose to leave messages as chapter but you all deserve to know what's going on. Listen I've just gotten a new desktop computer and I'm just now able to get all my shit together so please don't forsake me. As soon as everything is good to go I'll post again. Don't kill me!


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